THE  LAND  OF  THE 
STRENUOUS  LIFE 


A.HBE  FELIX  KLEIN 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


IN  THE   LAND  OF 
THE  STRENUOUS  LIFE 


IN  THE  LAND  OF 
THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE 


BY 

ABBE  FELIX  KLEIN 

M 

OF  THE  CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY 
OF  PARIS 


A  UTHOR'S    TRANSLA  TION 


ILLUSTRATED 


CHICAGO 

A.  C,  McCLURG  &  CO. 

1905 


t- 


COPYRIGHT 


A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO. 

1905 


PUBLISHED  OCTOBER  II,  1  905 


Cfje  ILaktgfte 

R.    DONNELLEY   &   SONS  COMPANV 
CHICAGO 


TO 
PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT 


226463 


TO    MY    AMERICAN    READERS 

TF  I  were  to  consider  only  your  habit  of  asking  visi 
tors  to  your  country,  "  How  do  you  like  America?" 
I  might  offer  this  book  with  entire  confidence,  since  it 
is  precisely  an  answer  to  your  own  repeated  inquiry. 

Yet  this  response  has  not  been  prepared  for  you, 
but  for  others — for  mere  Europeans.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  water  also,  people  have  asked  me,  "  What 
do  you  think  of  America?"  I  have  told  them,  and 
they  have  listened  with  a  certain  measure  of  interest.1 
And  how  can  I  expect  you  in  America  to  lend  your 
ears  to  a  resident  of  the  Old  World  who  addresses 
himself  to  other  inhabitants  of  the  Old  World?  Is 
there  any  significance  for  you  in  these  "  Dialogues  of 
the  Dead"? 

I  have  another  reason  for  hesitation.  Not  imagin 
ing  that  these  pages  would  fall  under  your  eyes,  I  wrote 
them  under  the  influence  of  a  sentiment  which  now 
brings  me  to  some  confusion,  a  sentiment  for  which  I 
must  crave  your  pardon.  I  wrote  them,  alas  !  with  an 
excess  of  benevolence.  In  spite  of  some  criticisms 
(only  too  rare  and  inadequate),  I  have  said  too  much 
good  of  you,  as  I  now  humbly  confess.  I  have  told 
so  much  that  is  good  that  your  modesty  —  proverbial 
in  all  the  world  —  must  endure  much  while  you  read; 

1The  French  work,  "  Au  Pay:  de  la  Vie  Intense,"  has  passed  into  the  seventh 
edition  within  a  few  months,  and  the  French  Academy  has  awarded  it  the  Montyon 
prize  of  one  thousand  francs.  —  [PUBRS.] 

vii 


viii  To  MY  AMERICAN  READERS 

and  I  think  I  see  you  pushing  from  you  with  blushes 
these  too  flattering  pages. 

Modest  readers  of  America,  be  indulgent  toward 
me !  I  am  ready  to  admit,  if  you  insist  on  it,  that 
you  have  numerous  defects ;  and,  since  you  do  nothing 
by  halves,  I  am  sure  that  you  are  capable  of  carrying 
them  further  than  any  other  nation  —  first  in  the  world 
always !  But  consider,  I  beseech  you,  that  circum 
stances  have  prevented  me  from  noting  these  defects. 
As  you  will  find  out  for  yourselves,  I  have  had  the 
misfortune  to  encounter  in  your  interesting  country 
only  honest  folk,  and  perhaps  the  best  that  are  there. 
On  my  next  journey  I  hope  to  be  more  fortunate,  and 
am  counting  on  your  help  to  enable  me  to  meet  the 
other  sort. 

But  let  us  talk  seriously  (and  a  Frenchman  is  some 
times  capable  of  that).  Even  if  I  had  noticed  your 
defects,  what  purpose  would  it  serve  to  exhibit  them  to 
my  countrymen  ?  We  have  enough  of  our  own  with 
out  giving  ourselves  the  trouble  to  go  so  far  in  quest 
of  others.  What  I  proposed  to  myself,  in  crossing 
the  Atlantic,  was  to  seek  in  your  country  the  profitable 
example  of  certain  virtues  which  you  possess  in  a  very 
high  degree,  and  which  we  in  some  measure  lack.  As 
a  sort  of  representative  of  a  commercial  establishment 
in  the  moral  realm,  I  went  to  select,  among  the  vari 
ous  products  of  your  land,  those  which  ours  does  not 
supply  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  upon  my  return  to 
distribute  them  as  widely  as  possible. 

Now,  among  the  things  which  you  supply  in  pro- 


To  MY  AMERICAN  READERS  ix 

fusion,  and  which  we  demand,  I  know  nothing  more 
important  nor  more  enviable  than  initiative  and  toler 
ance.  The  courage  to  act  and  the  wisdom  to  permit 
others  to  act,  —  what  is  more  beautiful,  and  in  our  day 
more  necessary,  than  this?  If  true  civilization  is  meas 
ured  by  increase  in  the  value  of  human  personality, 
what  is  grander  than  to  develop  one's  own  nature  in 
all  proper  directions,  and  to  promote  the  development 
of  the  capacities  of  others  ?  You  are  a  people  at  once 
energetic  and  tolerant;  you  promote  without  hindrance 
your  own  freedom,  and  you  respect  as  sacred  the  free 
dom  of  all  your  brothers.  In  this  at  least  — and  it  is 
a  great  deal  —  you  deserve  to  be  taken  as  the  model 
of  the  world;  and  I  count  it  a  favor  of  God  to  have 
the  honor  to  set  this  example  before  France  just  at  the 
moment  when  it  is  most  needed. 

Poor  beloved  France !  In  the  past  she  has  had 
glory  without  parallel ;  she  has  still,  even  now,  a  refine 
ment  of  spirit  and  taste,  a  delicacy  of  heart,  a  chivalry 
of  soul,  which  entitle  her  to  walk  erect  among  the 
nations.  But  in  many  of  her  children  one  quality  is 
wanting,  which  is  the  privilege  of  youth.  I  mean  con 
fidence, —  confidence  in  life,  which  gives  the  spirit  of 
audacity  and  enterprise ;  confidence  in  the  truth,  which 
enables  one  to  interpret  it  openly  to  others,  in  the 
spirit  of  fair  play,  without  attempting  to  impose  one's 
own  ideals  on  the  reluctant;  confidence  in  the  divine 
energy  immanent  in  truth  and  life,  which  assures 
human  progress. 

These  are  the  virtues  whose  illustration  we  have 


x  To  MY  AMERICAN  READERS 

sought  among  you.  And  already  this  effort  has  met 
with  some  success.  In  our  discussions  of  religious 
liberty,  for  example,  and  of  a  higher  standard  of  life, 
we  have  not  in  vain  introduced  the  recital  of  your 
actions  and  the  echo  of  your  words.  Who  can  estimate 
the  value  of  the  salutary  reflections  which  we  owe  to 
the  respect  of  your  people  for  religion,  to  the  notions 
of  tolerance  which  exist  among  your  numerous  religious 
denominations,  and  all  we  owe  of  moral  awakening 
to  the  discourses,  translated  and  popularized  among 
us,  of  your  illustrious  President,  the  herald  of  the 
strenuous  life  ?  American  ideals  have  stirred  our  souls 
and  quickened  there  the  French  ideals. 

For  nations  as  well  as  for  individuals,  history,  or 
rather  Providence,  very  often  holds  in  reserve  a  tardy 
recompense,  and,  what  is  more  precious,  a  wonderful 
justice,  which  await  an  opportune  moment.  Once  we 
aided  you  to  achieve  your  liberty ;  and  that  was  for  me 
a  moment  of  high  feeling,  never  to  be  forgotten,  when, 
at  Philadelphia,  in  the  sacred  Independence  Hall,  I 
saw  the  picture  which  represents  the  victors  of  York- 
town  laying  the  captured  flags  before  the  members  of 
Congress  and  the  Ambassador  of  France.  To-day, 
citizens  of  our  sister  Republic,  it  is  you  who  by  your 
example  and  by  your  exhortations  recall  us  to  the  love 
and  the  practice  of  liberty.  Once  we  aided  you  to 
become  a  great  nation ;  you  now  help  us  to  remain 
one. 

Such  is  the  grandeur  of  your  mission,  such  the 
responsibility  which  weighs  on  you,  O  Americans ! 
You  are  the  advance  guard  of  humanity  on  the  path 


To  MY  AMERICAN  READERS  xi 

of  progress,  of  light,  and  liberty ;  and  humanity  looks 
to  you  to  guide  it  aright,  and  to  push  most  swiftly  to 
the  goal.  God  grant  you  may  always  worthily  respond 
to  so  grand  a  vocation. 

FELIX  KLEIN. 
BELLEVUE,  NEAR  PARIS,  July  4,  1905. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  VOYAGE  PAGE 

Leaving  France.  —  First  Impressions.  —  Fellow -Travellers. —  Ex 
iled  Nuns.  —  Canadian  Immigrants.  —  American  Youngsters. 

—  A  Progressive  Convent       ......      I 

CHAPTER  II 

FIRST    VISIT    TO    NEW    YORK 

Up  the  Bay. — The  Paulists.  —  A  New  York  Monastery. — Father 
Elliott  and  Father  Doyle.  —  A  New  York  Sunday. —  Religious 
Condition  of  America. — Standing  of  Catholicism. — Chinese, 
Italian,  and  Jewish  Quarters.  —  Wall  Street. —  Riverside 
Park .14 

CHAPTER  III 

FROM    NEW    YORK    TO    MONTREAL    BY    WAY    OF    BOSTON 

Regrets  at  Missing  the  Hudson  River  and  the  New  York  Lakes. — 
Boston. —  Its  General  Appearance.  —  An  Historic  Town. 

—  Monuments  and  Schools. — Harvard  University.- — French 
Memories.  —  An  Evening  Vision.  —  A  Model  Parish.  —  From 
Boston  to  Montreal         .......   45 

CHAPTER  IV 

CANADIAN     IDEAS    AND    VIEWS 

A  Visit  to  Canada. —  Montreal.  —  A  Sunday  with  the  Indians. — 
Analysis  of  Canadian  Patriotism.  —  Iroquois  versus  Sulpician. 

—  Ottawa. — The    Canadian    Parliament. —  Colonization. — 
The  Apostolic  Delegate. — The  University. — The  St.  Law 
rence. — The  Thousand  Islands. —  Ontario. — The  Poem  of 
America      .........   62 

xiii 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  V 

AN    INVOLUNTARY    VISIT    TO    BISHOP    MAC    QUAID  PAGE 

Unforeseen  Itinerary. — A  Visit  to  Charlotte,  New  York.  —  An 
Unexpected  Call  Upon  Bishop  Mac  Quaid. —  Reassuring 
Welcome.  —  A  Model  Seminary.  —  A  Right  Reverend  Viticul- 
turist. — A  Tireless  Cicerone.  —  Difficulties  with  Archbishop 
Ireland. —  A  Visit  to  a  Grammar-School.  —  Surprise  of  a 
European  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .91 

CHAPTER  VI 

BUFFALO    AND    NIAGARA NOTRE    DAME    UNIVERSITY 

Beauty  of  Buffalo. —  The  Knights  of  Columbus. —  American 
Broad-Mindedness. — Niagara.  —  A  Growing  Town:  South 
Bend.  —  Father  Zahm  at  Home. — The  University  of  Notre 
Dame,  Indiana. — A  School  of  Journalism. — Latin  and  Ameri 
can  Systems  of  Education. — St.  Mary's  Academy. — 
French  Origin  of  Notre  Dame  .  .  .  .  115 

CHAPTER  VII 

CHICAGO 

My  Fellow-Travellers.  —  Immensity  of  Chicago.  —  Solitude  and 
Business. — In  a  Church  of  Colored  Baptists. —  Beauty  and 
Ugliness. — The  Two  Chicagos. — Visit  to  a  Public  School. 
—  Hospitality  and  Charm. — Hull  House  and  Settlement- 
Workers. —  Chicago's  Wonderful  History. — The  City  of  the 
Future  ....  134 

CHAPTER  VIII 

PEORIA     AND     BISHOP     SPALDING A    SMALL    CITY    AND    A    GREAT    BISHOP 

Across  Illinois. —  Bishop  Spalding  at  Home. — His  Philosophy 
and  Prestige. — A  Typical  American  City.  —  Peoria,  its 
Resources,  its  Social  and  Educational  Advantages. — Admin 
istrative  Simplicity  in  the  United  States. — A  Bishop  Beloved 
in  his  Diocese  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  153 


CONTENTS  xv 

CHAPTER  IX 

ST.     LOUIS    AND    THE    WORLD* S    FAIR  PAGE 

The  Louisiana  of  Chateaubriand  and  That  of  To-day. — The 
Immensity  of  American  Cities.  —  Archbishop  Glennon. — 
The  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  — Its  Dominant  Idea. 
—  The  President  of  the  United  States  at  the  Jesuit  College. — 
Religious  Tolerance. — The  Contemplative  Life. —  A  Pioneer: 
the  Bishop  of  Wichita.  —  An  Old  French  Family.  —  A  Word 
About  Mexico. — A  Fine  Christian  Brothers'  College. — A 
Grand  Seminary  of  the  European  Kind. — The  Living 
Church  .  .  .  .  ,  .  .  .  171 

CHAPTER  X 

THE    CITY    OF    IRON    AND    FIRE 

Returning  to  the  East.  —  In  the  Manufacturing  Districts. — St. 
Jerome  and  Pittsburg.  —  Andrew  Carnegie. —  His  Appren 
ticeship. —  His  Social  Ideas. —  His  Gospel  of  Wealth. — A 
Well- Bred  Frenchman. — The  Electric  Works  of  Westing- 
house  and  the  Forges  of  Carnegie. —  How  Masters  and 
Inventors  are  Formed. — -With  a  Business  Man. — Nocturnal 
Reporting.  —  A  Club  on  the  Twenty-second  Story. — A  Dan- 
tesque  Scene. — Through  Pennsylvania  by  Rail. — Irregularity 
of  the  Trains.  —  An  Invitation  to  Baltimore  .  .  196 

CHAPTER  XI 

AT  THE  CARDINAL'S  HOUSE  IN  BALTIMORE 

America  Represented  in  the  Conclave  for  the  First  Time. —  Re 
turn  of  Cardinal  Gibbons. —  Public  Reception  in  Baltimore. — 
A  Popular  Archbishop. — The  Creed  of  Constantinople  Sung 
in  the  Twentieth  Century,  in  a  Great  American  City. — A 
Walk  with  the  Cardinal. —  Conversations:  Montalembert, 
Paul  Bourget,  the  Catholic  Press,  the  Conclave. — Cardinal 
Gibbons  and  the  Election  of  Pius  X  .  .  .  224 


xvi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XII 

AT    THE    WHITE    HOUSE  PAGE 

The  President  at  Home. — The  Man  of  the  Strenuous  Life. — 
His  Conversation.  —  A  Representative  American.  —  The 
Character  and  Ideas  of  Roosevelt. — Roosevelt  Among  Catho 
lics  and  Among  Protestants. —  Sermons  of  the  President. — 
Opposed  to  All  Abuses  and  All  Prejudices. —  National  Act 
of  Faith. — The  State,  Religious  and  Neutral. — "Look  Upon 
This  Picture,  and  on  This"  .  .  .  .  242 

CHAPTER  XIII 

REMINISCENCES    OF    WASHINGTON 

The  Capital  City. —  St.  Patrick's  Rectory. —  A  Clerical  Orator, 
Dr.  Stafford. — A  "Mixed  Marriage"  Ceremony. — Catho 
lic  University  of  America. —  Apostolic  Mission  House. — 
Discourse  of  Archbishop  Glennon.  —  Higher  Education  of 
Catholic  Women. — Trinity  College. — Columbian  University. 
— The  International  Bureau  of  American  Republics. —  Is  a 
Pan-American  Soul  Being  Formed?  .  .  .  262 

CHAPTER  XIV 

THE     EDUCATION    OF    WHITES    AND    BLACKS 

At  the  Bureau  of  Education.  —  Organization  of  Education  in  the 
United  States. —  Extraordinary  Development  of  the  Higher 
Education. —  Statistics  of  Some  of  the  Liberal  Professions. — 
A  High  School  for  Negroes. — The  JEneid  Explained  by 
a  Colored  Woman. — The  Negro  Question  an  Unsolvable 
Problem. — The  Best  Education. — The  Ideas  of  Booker  T. 
Washington  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  285 

CHAPTER  XV 

BALTIMORE     REVISITED 

Change  of  Plans. — At  Baltimore. — Father  Magnien:  the  Influ 
ence  of  a  French  Priest  on  the  Church  in  America. — The 
Great  Role  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  the  Episcopate. —  Bald- 


CONTENTS  xvii 

PAGE 

more  a  Centre  of  Catholic  Life. — The  Plenary  Councils. — 
Mgr.  Falconio,  the  Apostolic  Delegate. — How  a  Parish  is 
Formed  in  the  United  States. — An  Enemy  of  Abuses:  Mr. 
Charles  Bonaparte. — His  Ideas  on  the  Parish  School. — 
Ought  It  to  Receive  Grants  from  Public  Funds?  —  No 
Change  Desired. — The  Prosperous  Convent  of  Notre  Dame 
of  Maryland. — Bryn  Mawr  School.  —  Johns  Hopkins  Uni 
versity  ........  304 

CHAPTER  XVI 

NATIONAL    FESTIVITIES 

With  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. — An  Impolitic  Major. — 
The  Dedication  of  Sherman's  Statue.  —  Splendid  Solemnity. 

—  Review.  —  Prayer.  —  Speeches  of  President  Roosevelt  and 
Four  Generals. — Too  Long  a  Ceremony. — Archbishop  Ire 
land. —  Military  Soiree. — The  Banquet  of  the  Four  Armies. 

—  Prayer,  Toasts,   and   National   Songs. — At  Washington's 
Tomb          ........  322 

CHAPTER  XVII 

PHILADELPHIA 

Departure  from  Washington. — A  Notable  City.  —  Philadelphia. 

—  Historic  Memories.  —  Independence  Hall.  —  Ecclesiastical 
Reunion. — Parochial    Finances.  —  Influence    of   Ireland    on 
Catholicism    in    the    United    States. — Archbishop    Ryan. — 
Indian  Commission. — An  Anti-Clerical  Foundation.  —  Girard 
College. — Central   High  School  of  Philadelphia.  —  Univer 
sity    of    Pennsylvania. —  Principal    Gifts    Received     by    the 
Educational  Institutions  in  One  Year. — A  Great  College  for 
Women. — Bryn   Mawr. — Always  Tolerant. — "  Remain  in 
America". 338 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

LAST    DAYS    IN     NEW    YORK 

Saint  Sulpice  in  the  United  States.  — Tuxedo  Park. — The  Integ 
rity  of  Politicians. — McClellan  and  Seth  Low. — Municipal 
Elections. — New  York  by  Noon,  Evening,  Night. — "The 


xviil  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Star-Spangled  Banner"  in  the  Sky. — The  International 
Catholic  Truth  Society. —  Episcopalian  Clergymen. — The 
"North  American  Review." — The  Hour  of  Parting. — At 
St.  Paul's.— On  the  "Lorraine." — "Sweet  Land  of 
Liberty"  ....  360 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

PORTRAIT  OF  ABBE  KLEIN Frontispiece 

PORTRAIT  OF  BISHOP  MAC  QUAID 94 

PORTRAIT  OF  FATHER  ZAHM 124 

PORTRAIT  OF  BISHOP  SPALDING 154 

PORTRAIT  OF  ARCHBISHOP  GLENNON 174 

PALACE  OF   EDUCATION,  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE  EXPOSITION      .      .182 

PORTRAIT  OF  ANDREW  CARNEGIE 198 

PORTRAIT  OF  CARDINAL  GIBBONS 226 

PORTRAIT  OF  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 244 

PORTRAIT  OF  MGR.  FALCONIO 268 

PORTRAIT  OF  ARCHBISHOP  IRELAND 304 

THE  SHERMAN  STATUE,  WASHINGTON 324 

PORTRAIT  OF  ARCHBISHOP  RYAN        .      .      . 346 

PORTRAIT  OF  ARCHBISHOP  KEANE 358 


xix 


IN    THE    LAND    OF 

THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE 


CHAPTER  I 
THE    VOYAGE 

Leaving  France. —  First  Impressions. —  Fellow-  Travellers. — 
Exiled  Nuns. —  Canadian  Immigrants. — American  Young 
sters. — A  Progressive  Convent. 

PUNCTUALLY  at  five  minutes  after  midnight 
our  train  drew  out  of  the  station  of  St.  Lazare  in 
Paris.  Sinking  into  my  seat  and  closing  my  eyes,  I 
said  to  the  companion  who  was  to  go  a  part  of  the 
journey  with  me,  "Wake  me  at  New  York."  This 
friend  of  mine  was  the  Abbe  Sicard,  well  known  as  an 
historian,  whose  parish  of  St.  Medard  in  Paris  was 
founded  under  the  Merovingians  a  thousand  years 
before  America  was  discovered.  I  closed  my  eyes; 
he  slept.  After  a  prayer  that  God  would  protect  our 
journey,  I  tried  hard  to  find  repose.  But  mind  and 
imagination  were  active,  and  a  thousand  useless  fancies 
tormented  me  out  of  all  hope  of  rest.  Now,  the 
business  of  entertaining  persistent  ideas  becomes  tire 
some  toward  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  so  I  turned  to 
an  infallible  foe  of  thought,  the  daily  papers.  In  the 
copy  in  my  hand,  huge  headlines  attracted  my  atten- 


2  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

tion:  "The  Humbert  affair;  eighth  session  of  the 
court;  expected  scandals;  personages  involved;  the 
secret  of  Therese;  probable  verdict  to-morrow."  To 
think  that  we  are  leaving  France  on  the  eve  of  such  a 
sensational  event!  After  two  pages  of  the  Humbert 
trial  come  Macedonian  despatches  telling  of  great 
massacres;  then  divers  stories  of  gendarmes  expelling 
the  nuns;  and  finally  a  piece  of  information  to  the 
effect  that  the  recently  elected  Pope  Pius  X  ,  by  a 
rather  bold  innovation,  has  ordered  that  the  newspa 
pers  given  to  him  shall  not  be  previously  prepared  or 
modified.  This  jumble  of  things  was  no  great  help  to 
sleep,  and  when  we  reached  Havre  I  was  tired  enough. 
There,  however,  the  very  sight  of  the  steamer  that 
awaited  us  was  enough  to  restore  our  spirits;  a  more 
graceful,  elegant,  and  comfortable  vessel  than  our 
"  Lorraine/'  or  her  sister  ship  "  La  Savoie,"  does  not 
sail  the  sea.  A  part  of  the  three  hours  before  starting- 
time  we  spent  in  strolling  through  the  town.  The  sun 
had  not  risen,  nor  the  inhabitants.  We  walked  upon 
the  sea-wall,  whence  we  looked  far  out  upon  the  ele 
ment  on  which  we  were  to  venture.  It  was  not  so 
alarming,  and  we  went  on  board  rather  reassured.  I 
was  fairly  overcome  with  the  sleep  which  had  forsaken 
me  during  the  night,  so,  while  the  ship  still  swung  at 
anchor,  I  lay  down.  I  remember  that  the  whistling  of 
the  siren  broke  in  upon  my  dreams;  but  it  was  not 
until  five  hours  later  that  I  arose.  Going  out  upon 
the  bridge,  I  found  we  were  in  sight  of  Cherbourg.  But 
it  was  only  a  glimpse  of  the  town  that  I  caught,  as  we 
were  losing  sight  of  France,  The  island  of  Aurigny 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  3 

sank  into  the  distance  in  its  turn.  Are  we  launched 
upon  the  great  deep  at  last?  Not  yet;  for  we  can  still 
make  out  the  English  coast.  There  are  the  lights  of 
Cape  Lizard;  and  later  on,  those  of  Scilly  Islands 
brighten  the  horizon.  Then  the  last  gleam  of  far-off 
lighthouses  disappears,  and  we  have  entered  into 
evening  darkness  and  the  ocean  waste. 

But  though  land  was  invisible,  we  were  still  in  touch 
with  it.  At  dinner  I  saw  passengers  receiving  and  send 
ing  despatches.  Wireless  telegraphy  was  busy  with 
its  miracles,  the  last  word  of  science;  the  latest,  rather, 
and  not  the  last,  for  to-morrow  out  of  radium  or  some 
thing  else  will  come  new  wonders  which  may  transform 
the  world.  Yet  there  are  men  who  deny  progress,  or 
maintain  that  if  it  does  exist  it  is  confined  to  the  prov 
ince  of  the  grossly  material.  But  how  many  of  these 
telegrams  exchanged  at  night  upon  the  sea  may  be 
ministering  to  the  spiritual,  may  contain  loving  fare 
wells,  affectionate  reassurances,  announcements  of  joy, 
or  messages  of  sorrow!  I  myself  left  a  friend  at  the 
point  of  death  the  day  before  I  sailed;  and  if  I  had  but 
thought  of  it,  I  could  have  had  the  comfort  of  thus 
receiving  news  of  him.  Thus  science  appears  to  me 
as  a  holy  light,  even  like  that  of  the  stars  whose  rays 
this  evening  are  piercing  the  darkness  of  the  heavens, 
and  in  whose  presence  on  the  solitary  bridge  I  breathe 
my  wordless  prayer. 

It  was  very  late  when  I  went  to  the  quiet  room 
assigned  me;  but  again  it  was  hard  to  sleep.  The 
fatigue  and  the  crowded  impressions  of  that  first  day 
would  not  subside.  Still,  I  felt  strangely  content.  It 


4  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

seemed  to  me  that  through  the  darkness  resting  upon 
the  deep  there  opened  vistas  radiant  and  vast.  Fol 
lowing  the  course  of  light  and  progress,  we  were  going 
from  east  to  west,  were  leaving  the  old  for  the  new, 
the  past  for  the  future.  I  felt  full  of  confidence,  full 
of  faith.  Our  vessel  cleaving  its  forward  way  was  a 
symbol  of  the  world. 

The  quiet  recollection  of  this  first  day  was  too 
pleasant  to  last  long.  Never  has  conversation  con 
sumed  so  many  hours  of  the  day  as  during  the  voyage. 
Without  speaking  of  the  Captain,  the  personification 
of  fine  manners  and  amiability;  or  of  the  Commissaire, 
who  was  a  perfect  type  of  master  of  the  house ;  or  of 
the  Doctor,  whom  fortunately  one  could  visit  without 
being  sick;  or  of  those  of  our  fellow-voyagers  whom 
we  were  delighted  to  associate  with,  we  had  also  to 
acknowledge  the  advances  of  several  who  gave  us  the 
honor  of  their  company  unasked  and  uninvited. 

We  carried  1,027  passengers  —  233  first,  167  sec 
ond,  and  627  third  class.  Of  these  last,  about  a  hun 
dred  and  forty  were  returning  to  the  United  States 
after  a  few  months'  visit  to  relatives  in  Europe.  The 
others  in  the  steerage  were  emigrants,  counting  among 
them  12  French,  a  few  Swiss,  70  Roumanian  Jews, 
200  Germans,  and  as  many  Italians.  Many  were 
alone,  but  the  majority  (and  notably  the  Jews) 
had  their  families  with  them.  Of  the  167  second- 
class  passengers,  nearly  all  were  Italians  or  Germans, 
going  to  America  for  the  first  time,  or  returning  there 
after  a  business  or  pleasure  trip  abroad.  Most  of 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  5 

them  were  tradesmen.  Of  the  first-cabin  travellers, 
a  majority  were  Americans  who  had  spent  the  summer 
abroad  for  pleasure,  rest,  or  study.  It  is  a  matter  of 
less  moment  to  them  to  run  over  to  France  than  for 
a  Parisian  to  make  the  eight  hours'  trip  to  London. 
Beside  these  were  two  Peruvians,  six  Germans,  three 
Italians,  one  of  whom  was  a  Brooklyn  choir-master, 
who  was  taking  along  from  Padua  a  young  wife  to 
whom  he  had  been  four  years  betrothed;  three  Cana 
dians,  two  priests,  and  a  settler;  and,  finally,  about 
thirty  Frenchmen,  among  whom  were  thirteen  mer 
chants,  two  or  three  tourists,  one  Commissioner  of  the 
State  Council,  five  insurance  men  who  were  delegates 
to  a  convention  of  their  profession,  one  young  colonist, 
one  unhappy  schoolmaster  who  had  received  orders  to 
take  a  secularized  school  in  Newfoundland  into  which 
pupils  would  enter  only  when  they  were  driven,  and 
four  secular  priests,  namely,  two  professors  at  Mon 
treal,  my  companion,  and  myself.  To  these  thirty 
French  passengers  who  were  making  the  journey  by 
their  free  choice  must  be  added  forty-two  others  who 
were  crossing  the  ocean  by  no  voluntary  act.  These 
were  French  religionists,  driven  from  their  homes, 
despoiled  of  their  possessions,  and  practically  expa 
triated  by  the  laws  of  their  country.  They  were 
going,  some  of  them  at  least,  to  lands  that  had  for 
merly  been  ours,  to  Canada,  and  to  Texas,  which 
latter  was  part  of  the  old  province  of  Louisiana.  Will 
the  sad  day  ever  come,  when,  in  contradiction  to  our 
glorious  past,  liberty  will  begin  where  the  dominion 
of  France  ends? 


6  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

I  had  to  put  this  question  to  myself,  when  on  our 
steamer  I  saw  the  mournful  spectacle  of  four  nuns  of 
Sainte-Chretienne  of  Metz  who  were  expiating  the  error 
of  having  chosen  to  be  subjects  of  France.  Their 
mother  house  was  in  the  capital  of  Lorraine.  In  1871 
the  congregation  was  divided ;  the  majority,  in  order 
to  remain  French,  established  themselves  at  Longuyon 
in  Meurthe-et- Moselle,  on  our  side  of  the  frontier. 
The  others  stayed  on  in  their  convent  at  Metz.  To 
day  those  that  remained  under  Germany  are  enjoying 
peace  and  toleration;  while  the  imprudent  ones  who 
trusted  themselves  to  us  are  expelled  from  their  home, 
and  deprived  of  their  sole  means  of  living,  which  is 
teaching  the  young.  They  know  not  where  to  turn. 
The  four  nuns  of  whom  I  speak  were  sent  to  America 
at  haphazard,  to  find,  wherever  they  could,  a  home 
where  they  might  work  and  pray.  Their  sisters  left 
behind  in  France,  five  hundred  of  them,  do  not  know 
what  day  the  officers  may  cast  them  into  the  street; 
and,  naturally,  they  are  looking  with  anxiety  to  the 
result  of  this  venture  in  America.  Some  of  the  com 
munity  are  already  waiting  at  Havre,  and  others  are  at 
various  English  ports,  watching  for  the  word  which 
shall  assure  them  a  home  somewhere.  Long  months 
of  seeking  elapsed  before  any  success  attended  our 
efforts.  I  say  our  efforts ;  for  I  tried  to  help  the  poor 
exiles.  I  shared  in  their  search  for  an  abode,  made 
many  fruitless  inquiries  in  their  behalf,  and  am  still  in 
correspondence  with  them.  I  found  them  later  in 
Montreal,  where  they  lived  some  weeks  in  the  hos 
pitable  Convent  of  the  Gray  Nuns.  Hither  they  had 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  7 

come,  worn  out  with  long  journeying  through  the 
United  States,  and  utterly  discouraged.  I  wish  their 
persecutors  could  have  seen  them,  downcast  and  in 
tears.  So  little  were  the  poor  nuns  informed  of  the 
true  nature  of  the  policy  to  which  they  were  sacrificed, 
that  they  even  asked  me  why  M.  Combes  wished  to 
do  them  harm,  and  when  they  would  be  permitted  to 
return  to  France  ! 

Three  of  the  four  sisters  were  French ;  the 
fourth,  who  accompanied  the  others  as  interpreter,  was 
English,  the  only  one  of  that  nationality  in  the  Con 
vent.  She  too,  no  less  keenly  than  the  other  three, 
suffered  at  leaving  France,  for  it  was  the  fatherland  of 
her  affections  and  her  faith.  Bishop  Dupont  des  Loges 
had  there  received  her  into  the  Church,  and  there, 
among  her  sisters  and  pupils,  her  heart  had  its  abiding- 
place.  "We  must  accept  what  God  permits,"  she  said 
to  me,  "but  it  is  hard  to  lose  everything;  and  then, 
you  see,  Father,  when  one  is  a  Catholic  one  feels  at 
home  only  in  France." 

If  some  of  the  religionists  have  not  a  resignation  so 
perfect  as  this,  who  will  presume  to  blame  them  ?  It 
will  be  long  before  I  forget  the  words  of  one  of  them, 
a  man  celebrated  as  an  educator,  who,  after  long  efforts, 
had  built  up  at  the  very  gates  of  Paris  a  splendid  col 
lege  with  six  hundred  students,  and  was  now,  at  the  age 
of  forty-five,  flung  out  of  doors.  Said  he  :  "  For  two 
years,  sir,  I  have  been  persecuted  by  the  laws  of  your 
country  as  a  malefactor ;  and  as  a  final  blow  I  have 
been  driven  from  my  home.  Speak  to  me  of  France 


8  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

no  more."  I  walked  away  from  him  biting  my  lips. 
I  understood  then,  better  than  ever  before,  the  evil 
brought  upon  us  by  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  and  the  incredible  folly  of  those  who  are' imi 
tating  that  act  to-day.  Undoubtedly  such  bitterness 
as  this  sufferer  displayed  is  rare  in  the  hearts  of  the 
exiles,  and  even  he  must  get  the  grace  to  pardon  from 
his  daily  mass.  But  the  growing  disapproval  of  the 
civilized  world,  the  astonishment  and  anger  of  Catho 
lics  everywhere,  who  up  to  now  have  been  our  best 
friends,  the  loss  of  our  influence  wherever  it  has  been 
maintained  by  our  missionaries,  these  consequences, 
to  speak  only  of  results  external  to  ourselves,  and  not 
mentioning  the  discords  which  must  last  long  among 
us,  ought  surely  to  suffice  for  a  time  even  the  authors" 
of  this  absurd  and  destructive  policy. 

I  have  remarked  that  among  our  two  hundred  and 
thirty-three  first-class  passengers  one  was  a  Frenchman 
going  to  the  Colonies.  This  was  a  young  man  of  nine 
teen,  of  fine  physique,  open  mind,  and  sturdy  character, 
whose  whole  soul  shone  in  his  eyes.  He  was  the  nephew 
of  a  naval  officer,  and  became  my  constant  companion 
on  shipboard.  His  interest  was  keenly  aroused  at 
seeing  me  jot  down  notes  for  my  narrative  of  the 
journey.  Whether  his  anxiety  was  a  desire  to  figure 
in  my  story,  or  fear  lest  I  should  include  him  in  it,  I 
cannot  say ;  but  at  any  rate  he  made  me  promise  to 
send  him  the  book  when  finished.  Friend  of  mine, 
shall  I  record  that  you  were  going  to  Notre  Dame  de 
,  near  the  important  city  of ,  in  Manitoba; 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  9 

that  you  are  now  on  a  large  estate,  established  and 
directed  by  a  Frenchman  of  great  initiative,  who 
receives  into  his  household  and  trains  up  young  men 
who  come  to  him  with  sufficient  material  and  moral 
guarantees ;  that  you  spend  your  summers  in  kitchen- 
gardening,  in  making  butter  and  condensed  milk,  and 
your  winters  in  preserving  venison  and  other  products 
of  the  chase —  pheasants,  wild  duck,  moose,  hares,  and 
white  rabbits  which,  save  for  their  black  noses,  show 
not  a  speck  upon  the  wide  fields  of  snow;  that  this 
active,  wholesome,  out-of-door  life  pleases  and  rejoices 
you,  and  fills  you  with  pity  for  your  comrades  left 
behind  at  their  books  and  desks ;  and,  finally,  that  my 
opinion  is  that  you  have  chosen  the  better  part  ?  If  I 
say  all  this  about  you,  shall  I  betray  your  confidence, 
which  was  so  dear  to  me?  And  will  you  in  anger  fling 

my  book  into  Lake ,  or  into  that  beautiful  river 

with  the  sweet  French  name,  on  the  banks  of  which 
you  read  aloud  at  leisure  hours  your  Alfred  de  Mus- 
set,  with  only  the  Canadian  birds  for  auditors  ? 

Manitoba  is  west  of  the  provinces  of  Ontario  and 
Quebec;  beyond  Manitoba  is  Saskatchewan,  and  still 
beyond  is  Alberta.  Then  come  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
between  which  and  the  Pacific  is  British  Columbia. 
We  had  on  board  a  colonist  of  Alberta.  He  was  a 
man  of  sixty,  who  had  left  France  twenty  years  before, 
after  a  bad  turn  in  his  fortunes.  He  had  been  a  law 
yer,  but  became  a  farmer  in  the  New  World,  and  has 
followed  up  failure  with  success.  And  now,  when  he 
owns  fertile  fields,  and  has  seen  his  six  children,  three 
of  whom  are  married,  well  started  on  their  careers,  he 


io  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

looks  back  without  regret  upon  his  humble  beginnings 
as  a  pioneer,  when  he  had  to  till  a  virgin  soil  and  to 
build  with  his  own  hands  a  log  cabin  for  his  home. 
Nevertheless,  he  thinks  people  should  begin  that  sort 
of  life  younger  than  he  began  it.  On  my  asking  him 
for  information  which  might  be  useful  to  others,  he 
said  that  a  young  man  who  wished  to  follow  his  exam 
ple  should  emigrate  immediately  after  marrying,  or 
else  when  his  children  are  able  to  work.  He  can  pur 
chase  in  Paris  a  ticket  for  any  place  in  Canada;  but  it 
is  better  to  go  first  to  Montreal,  where  the  colonization 
society  will  give  him  definite  directions.  The  middle 
of  April  is  the  best  time  to  start  out ;  for  by  that  time 
the  snow  has  melted,  the  Spring  is  in  full  bloom,  farm- 
work  is  beginning,  and  the  demand  for  labor  is  greater 
than  the  supply.  If  the  young  colonist  is  married,  he 
will  need  a  small  capital  for  household  expenses ;  but  if 
he  is  unmarried,  this  need  is  very  slight.  During  the 
summer  and  autumn,  a  modest  sum  can  be  laid  by  out 
of  the  wages  of  the  ploughing,  harvesting,  and  thresh 
ing  seasons ;  and  in  the  winter  this  can  be  increased  by 
wood-chopping  in  British  Columbia.  An  average  of 
forty  dollars  a  month  can  thus  be  earned,  over  and 
above  food  and  lodging.  After  this  one  can  start  out 
for  one's  self.  By  making  a  deposit  of  ten  dollars  any 
adult,  eighteen  years  old  and  upward,  will  receive  from 
the  state  a  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  land.  The  first 
year's  expenses  on  such  a  property  need  not  be  more 
than  two  hundred  dollars.  Beginning  with  the  second 
year,  the  farm  should  bring  in  an  income.  Then,  if 
the  settler  has  resided  on  the  land  during  six  months 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  n 

of  each  year  for  the  first  three  years,  and  has  built  for 
himself  even  a  modest  house,  he  becomes  absolute 
owner,  with  full  proprietary  rights,  including  the  right 
to  sell. 

The  location  of  these  lands  is  very  accessible.  The 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  crosses  just  such  a  region ; 
and  it  would  appear  that  the  new  transcontinental  line 
is  to  be  still  more  convenient.  Immigration  is  avail 
ing  itself  of  these  excellent  opportunities,  and  few  who 
have  kept  in  mind  the  economic  development  of  recent 
years  will  be  surprised  at  the  words  of  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier :  "  There  is  every  indication  that  in  the  open 
ing  up  of  new  territory  the  twentieth  century  will  be 
for  Canada  what  the  nineteenth  century  has  been  for 
the  United  States." 

But  this  is  not  to  be  a  description  of  a  Canadian 
tour;  and  perhaps  the  reader,  who  of  course  cannot 
know  how  pleasant  it  is  for  me  to  linger  on  the  "Lor 
raine,"  is  grumbling  a  little  at  my  delay  in  getting  into 
port.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  should  have  been  glad  to 
anticipate  my  impressions  of  the  States  by  describing 
the  American  types  whom  I  met  on  the  steamer.  But 
my  opportunities  for  knowing  them  were  slender.  I 
made  acquaintance  with  a  publisher  and  a  merchant, 
both  of  New  York ;  but  they  were  far  from  commu 
nicative.  I  found  both  of  them  indignant,  and  justly 
so,  over  the  prevalence  in  France  of  unbecoming  pic 
tures  flaunted  in  the  public  eye.  The  only  other 
information  I  got  from  them  was  the  complaint  of  one 
that  New  York  was  too  full  of  Jews ;  and  a  remark 


12  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

from  the  other  that  the  cost  of  living  in  Paris  is  twenty 
dollars  a  day !  This  much  they  told  me,  with  interrup 
tions  in  the  shape  of  several  invitations  to  a  "  cocktail," 
which  I  politely  refused.  They  showed  no  inclination 
whatever  to  talk  about  their  business,  evidently  real 
izing  that  they  would  be  immersed  in  it  again  soon 
enough. 

But  the  Americans  on  board  who  were  of  chief 
interest  to  me  were  a  happy  group  of  boys  and  girls 
from  twelve  to  sixteen  years  old.  They  readily  made 
acquaintance  with  me,  and  often  ran  with  me  upon  the 
bridge.  Not  one  of  the  group  —  there  were  six  or 
seven  in  all — did  I  see  with  his  or  her  parents,  except 
when  they  were  landing.  This  was  their  American 
independence ;  and  they  enjoyed  the  liberty  without 
abusing  it.  In  America  one  never  hears  a  distracted 
mother  calling  out,  "  Go,  dear,  and  see  what  your  little 
sister  is  doing;  and  tell  her  to  leave  off  doing  it.'*  In 
contrast  with  this  happy  group,  however,  there  was  an 
intolerable  young  coxcomb  ten  years  of  age.  In  the 
gravest  manner  in  the  world  he  came  to  tell  us  that  at 
our  age  we  should  no  longer  indulge  in  amusements. 
I  took  a  curious  interest  in  the  immature  prig,  and  had 
experience  of  all  his  faults,  which  indeed  came  to  the 
surface  at  a  first  meeting  with  him  —  insolence,  ego 
tism,  and  every  species  of  absurdity.  Even  when  I 
approached  him  in  the  kindest  way,  he  never  departed 
from  his  unvarying  impertinence,  never  surprised  me 
by  a  single  display  of  politeness.  When  both  inde 
pendent  and  good,  the  American  child  is  a  charming 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  13 

companion ;  when  independent  and  disagreeable,  he  is 
really  a  little  monster. 

Approaching  America,  we  began  to  feel  the  thrill 
of  a  new  life.  Strange  power  of  our  faculties  for  adap 
tation!  Even  the  good  sisters  seemed  buoyed  up; 
and  an  occasional  word  of  cheer  or  of  confidence  in 
God  put  them  in  better  spirits.  They  were  especially 
encouraged  at  being  told  of  the  great  things  they  would 
be  able  to  accomplish,  of  the  religious  freedom  await 
ing  them,  and  of  the  brilliant  future  of  the  Church  in 
the  United  States.  Our  approach  to  a  new,  free,  and 
active  world  seemed  to  affect  these  devoted  souls,  and 
arouse  their  imagination,  when,  after  Tuesday  evening, 
we  could  say  that  we  were  "on  the  other  side."  I 
began  to  wonder  if  I  did  not  possess  the  unsuspected 
vocation  of  convent  chaplain !  Still,  all  convents  are 
not  to  be  found  in  the  middle  of  the  Atlantic ;  neither 
are  they  all  moving,  like  our  <c  Lorraine,"  at  a  speed  of 
twenty  and  a  half  knots  an  hour. 


i4  IN    THE    LAND    OF 


CHAPTER  II 

FIRST   VISIT   TO   NEW   YORK 

Up  the  Bay. —  The  Paulists. — A  New  York  Monastery. — 
Father  Elliott  and  Father  Doyle. — A  New  York  Sunday. — 
Religious  Condition  of  America. —  Standing  of  Catholicism. 
—  Chinese,  Italian,  and  Jewish  Quarters. —  IVall 
Street. —  Riverside  Park. 

TT  was  nightfall  when  we  entered  New  York  Bay, 
after  an  ocean  voyage  of  six  days  and  a  half.  One 
of  the  pilot-boats  which  are  ever  on  the  watch  to  guide 
vessels  into  the  harbor  spied  us  in  the  distance,  and 
quickly  headed  toward  us.  The  "Lorraine"  stopped, 
cast  anchor,  and  for  a  while  so  pitched  and  tossed  in  the 
heavy  sea  that  a  number  of  the  passengers  were  fright 
ened.  We  had  no  idea  how  heavy  a  sea  was  running, 
until  we  began  to  notice  the  fantastic  leaps  and  bounds 
of  the  little  vessel  that  was  trying  to  reach  us.  Soon, 
however,  it  came  alongside  ;  and  as  our  vessel  steadied 
itself,  the  pilot  clambered  aboard,  pleased  with  his  good 
luck.  It  was  a  very  stormy  night;  indeed,  so  dense 
was  the  fog  and  so  rough  the  sea  that  the  pilot  decided 
not  to  enter  the  harbor  until  the  following  morning. 
The  last  night  on  shipboard  is  rather  hard  on  one's 
nerves.  To  say  good-bye  to  the  friends  of  a  week, 
some  of  whom,  perhaps,  may  prove  the  friends  of  a 
lifetime  ;  to  picture  beforehand  the  people  and  customs 
of  an  unknown  country ;  to  wonder  what  lies  beyond 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  15 

the  darkness,  broken  now  and  again  by  those  strange 
distant  lights  which  flit  across  the  horizon;  this  is  more 
than  enough  to  keep  most  travellers  awake.  Indeed, 
all  of  us  were  ready  to  disembark  next  morning  long 
before  we  arrived  at  the  wharf. 

Many  have  praised  the  beauty  of  New  York  Bay 
and  the  Hudson  River.  We,  however,  were  unable  to 
enjoy  them,  for  a  cold,  drizzling  rain  prevented  our 
going  on  deck.  I  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  miss  seeing 
the  Statue  of  Liberty  in  the  harbor.  But  here  close  to 
us  is  the  city  itself,  which  we  approach  as  easily  as  the 
little  boats  on  the  Seine  creep  up  to  the  Quai  du 
Louvre.  Along  the  wharves,  through  the  smoke,  we  see 
some  strange  buildings  outlined — warehouses,  build 
ings  eight  and  ten  stories  high,  innumerable  towers  and 
steeples  whose  vast  silhouettes  are  lost  in  the  clouds. 
What  temples  are  these?  What  holy  city  is  this?  It 
is  only  the  business  district  of  New  York;  and  these 
are  office-buildings  of  twenty  and  more  stories  huddled 
together.  Is  it  a  beautiful  or  an  ugly  picture  ?  That 
is  hardly  a  fair  question.  All  I  can  say  is,  that  at  first 
sight  I  was  somewhat  disconcerted.  But  perhaps  it  is 
a  good  thing  to  meet  the  unexpected  when  one  enters 
a  new  country. 

They  tell  us  that  when,  in  September,  1609,  Hud 
son  first  entered  the  river  that  now  bears  his  name,  the 
savages  came  in  great  crowds  to  trade  their  tobacco  for 
the  knives  and  glass  trinkets  of  Europe.  The  savages 
of  to-day  did  not  ask  me  for  my  knife  or  my  eye 
glasses,  but  several  of  them  went  through  the  contents 
of  my  valise  with  great  eagerness,  while  others  fought 


16  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

to  put  me  in  a  cab.  A  friend  of  mine,  however,  who 
knew  the  ways  of  these  rascals  from  a  year's  residence 
among  them,  fortunately  came  to  my  rescue  in  time. 

After  a  last  glance  at  my  travelling  companions,  we 
took  a  carriage  and  drove  to  the  hospitable  home  of 
the  Paulist  Fathers  in  West  Fifty-ninth  Street.  Seen 
through  the  windows  of  a  closed  carriage  in  the 
driving  rain,  all  cities  look  alike.  The  wet  streets  of 
Ninth  Avenue  might  as  well  have  been  the  streets  of 
London  as  of  New  York.  Whether  the  distance  was  so 
great,  or  the  horses  so  abominably  slow,  it  seemed  to 
me  as  if  we  would  never  reach  our  destination.  Had 
we  been  Americans,  I  suppose  we  would  have  sent  our 
baggage  by  an  express  wagon,  and  gone  up-town  our 
selves  by  the  elevated  railroad. 

In  about  an  hour's  time  —  for  all  things  come  to  an 
end,  even  an  American  cab-trip  —  the  horses  stopped, 
and  two  youngsters  of  twelve  rushed  out  to  take  our 
baggage.  Having  carried  it  into  the  house,  one  ran 
away  without  even  giving  me  time  to  thank  him,  while 
the  other  at  my  request  went  to  announce  our  arrival. 
When  he  returned,  I  tried  to  tip  him  ;  but  he  laugh 
ingly  refused  to  take  any  money,  saying  with  pride 
that  he  was  one  of  the  choir-boys  of  St.  Paul's.  I 
learned  that  he  was  a  New  Yorker,  and  I  told  him  he 
was  my  first  acquaintance  in  America.  In  a  minute  we 
were  friends. 

The  door  opened,  and  I  saw  a  tall,  strong,  kindly 
old  man  enter,  who  introduced  himself,  asked  my 
name,  and  then  welcomed  me  with  open  arms.  It  was 
Father  Elliott,  the  spiritual  son  and  biographer  of 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  17 

Father  Hecker.  I  remember  his  writing  me,  some 
time  before,  of  a  certain  publicist :  "  I  do  not  know 
why  he  attacks  us,  but  I  do  know  that  ever  since  he 
began  to  do  so,  I  have  never  said  mass  without 
remembering  him  in  my  prayers." 

I  introduced  my  companion,  who  was  most  cor 
dially  received,  and  was  complimented  on  his  historical 
works,  which  are  well  thought  of  in  America.  We  were 
then  conducted  to  our  rooms,  which  belonged  to  two 
of  the  absent  missionaries.  The  furnishings  consisted 
merely  of  a  very  plain  wardrobe,  two  chairs,  a  small 
iron  bed,  and  a  white  wooden  washstand  ;  but  by  mak 
ing  our  valises  serve  as  closets,  we  managed  finally  to 
get  settled.  I  was  awakened,  much  to  my  vexation, 
about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  by  some  mice  who 
went  through  my  baggage  as  the  custom-house  officers 
had  done.  I  was  to  blame,  however,  for  I  was  impru 
dent  enough  to  have  left  some  crackers  in  my  valise. 

I  had  not,  I  must  confess,  pictured  America  in  this 
austere  way ;  but  in  twenty-four  hours  I  had  become 
quite  used  to  my  surroundings,  and  was  able  to  make 
the  best  of  them.  Indeed,  I  was  delighted  the  more 
because  everything  was  so  unexpected.  Father  Elliott, 
who  assisted  me  to  unpack  —  a  simple  operation  — 
seemed  to  regard  me  as  a  Sybarite.  Was  I  reallv  in 
New  York  ? 

I  asked  this  question  a  second  time,  when  they 
showed  us  around  the  house,  and  invited  us  to  dinner. 
Some  of  the  dishes  which  we  now  tasted  for  the 
first  time, —  for  example,  Indian  corn, —  seemed  to  us 
another  proof  of  austerity. 


i8  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

This  convent  in  Fifty-ninth  Street  is  a  real  convent, 
and  even  guests  are  treated  as  religionists,  though  with 
brotherly  affection.  Becoming  on  friendly  terms  with 
Father  Elliott  in  a  very  short  time,  I  began  to  tease  him 
about  his  luxurious  manner  of  living ;  but  he  said  to 
me,  seriously,  "I  am  a  monk,  you  know."  He  has 
indeed  all  the  characteristics  of  a  true  monk,  and  is  in 
no  sense  a  revolutionary.  This  fine-looking  old  soldier, 
this  missionary  with  long  white  beard,  this  austere, 
pious,  and  zealous  priest,  with  heart  intensely  devoted 
to  the  traditions  of  the  Church,  this  noble  and  childlike 
soul,  appeared  to  me  to  be  as  worthy  of  reverence  as  I 
had  hoped  for.  How  different  he  is  in  reality  from  the 
false  picture  left  in  the  minds  of  many  since  the  French 
controversy  of  some  few  years  ago  !  What  a  happy 
and  enjoyable  day  I  spent  in  his  company !  He 
showed  me  the  very  beautiful  and  devotional  Paulist 
Church,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  in  all  America.  He 
took  me  to  the  tomb  of  Father  Hecker,  who  is  buried 
underneath  the  tower,  and  we  prayed  there  together. 
Then  we  went  out  to  see  New  York. 

Once  outside  the  monastery,  we  took  the  elevated 
railroad,  and  passing  thus  from  the  silence  and  calm 
of  the  house  of  God  to  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the  out 
side  world,  I  hardly  noticed  the  change  at  first,  we  were 
so  busy  talking ;  and  we  kept  talking  even  after  we  had 
left  the  train,  until  finally  we  came  to  the  City  Hall 
and  Court  House,  which  my  guide  very  seriously 
assured  me  had  been  built  fully  as  long  ago  as  1867- 
and  this  when  my  companion  was  himself  pastor  of  a 
church  some  fifteen  centuries  old !  So  I  was  drawn 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  19 

down  from  the  clouds  and  made  to  notice  my  surround 
ings.  One  can  talk  religion  anywhere ;  but  only  here 
in  New  York  can  one  see  buildings  three  hundred  and 
sixty  feet  or  nearly  thirty  stories  high ;  only  here  can 
one  see  a  monstrous  bridge  nearly  a  mile  and  a  quarter 
long,  crowded  with  electric  and  cable  cars,  over  which 
four  hundred  thousand  people  travel  daily,  and  under 
which  pass  the  great  transatlantic  liners.  Elsewhere, 
fortunately,  America  is  more  attractive;  but  here  the 
Brooklyn  Bridge  and  the  down-town  sky-scrapers 
impress  one  chiefly  with  an  idea  of  the  power  and 
daring  of  the  American  people. 

I  have  but  little  desire  to  repeat  the  oft-given 
descriptions  of  these  extraordinary  sights.  Beside,  the 
day  was  not  very  propitious;  it  was  raining,  and  I  was 
still  thinking  of  other  things. 

I  travelled  to  the  top  of  some  of  the  high  buildings 
of  the  down-town  district,  in  elevators  that  took  twenty 
stories  at  a  jump  ;  and  then  walked  through  the  narrow 
streets  until  I  was  tired  out,  and  was  glad  to  take  the 
elevated  road  back  to  the  quiet  of  St.  Paul's.  We  were 
there  in  fifteen  minutes.  The  gates  of  the  convent 
closed  behind  us  ;  and  we  were  again  in  our  cells.  The 
noise  of  the  railroad  and  the  electric  cars  did  not  bother 
us  much;  for,  like  the  sighing  of  the  wind  or  the  roar 
of  the  sea,  it  is  so  constant  that  in  a  short  time  one 
ceases  to  notice  it.  It  was  quite  a  while  since  I  had 
enjoyed  such  peace  and  quiet;  and  my  first  day  in 
America  closed  with  the  reflection  that,  after  the  bustle 
of  the  world,  I  was  experiencing  the  calm  collectedness 
of  the  Thebaid. 


20  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  my  joy  was  all  the 
greater  for  being  able  to  say  mass  after  an  interruption 
of  eight  days.  At  St.  Paul's  I  gained  my  first  insight 
into  Catholic  life  in  the  United  States.  A  little  before 
nine  o'clock  I  went  down  into  the  Sunday  School  base 
ment,  which  is  as  large  as  the  church  itself,  and  found 
it  filled  with  children,  the  oldest  of  whom  appeared  to 
be  about  fifteen.  All  were  chattering  at  once,  though 
in  low  tones.  I  was  rather  shocked  at  first,  but  felt 
reassured  when  I  remarked  the  absolute  silence  that 
ensued  as  soon  as  the  celebrant  came  out  to  say  mass. 

These  children,  moreover,  come  to  mass  alone  with 
out  their  elders;  and  although  a  few  places  are  vacant, 
by  reason  of  some  families  having  gone  away  to  the 
country,  the  general  attendance  is  about  the  same  in 
summer  as  at  any  other  season.  The  older  people 
are  equally  attentive  to  their  religious  duties,  as  we 
had  occasion  to  notice  during  the  Sunday  services. 
The  church  was  filled  with  about  an  equal  number  of 
men  and  women  at  every  mass ;  at  every  mass,  I  repeat, 
even  the  high  mass,  which  is  chanted  in  Gregorian  by 
an  excellent  choir  of  seventy-five  members.  People 
who  find  sermons  a  bore  have  here  no  way  of  escaping 
them;  for  at  all  the  low  masses  the  Paulist  Fathers, 
beside  making  the  regular  church  announcements, 
preach  a  five  minutes'  sermon.  No  one  here  can  say 
that  he  is  not  instructed  in  the  teachings  of  the  Church. 
A  monthly  calendar,  which  is  freely  distributed  to  all 
the  parishioners,  gives  a  brief  account  of  the  chief 
religious  events,  the  liturgical  feasts,  and  the  affairs  of 
the  parish.  Vespers  are  chanted  at  four  o'clock,  save 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  21 

in  July  and  August.  The  church  is  filled  again  at  the 
evening  services,  consisting  of  congregational  singing 
in  English,  a  practical  sermon,  and  Benediction  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  The  last  event  of  the  day  was  an 
evening  visit  to  the  Young  Men's  Club,  an  institution 
similar  to  those  in  our  city  parishes  at  home. 

Such,  in  general  outline,  is  the  working  of  a  parish 
church  in  the  United  States.  St.  Paul's  includes  some 
fourteen  thousand  souls,  which  is  about  the  maximum 
of  a  city  parish.  If  a  parish  exceeds  that  number,  or 
sometimes  even  if  it  be  less,  it  is  subdivided;  as  other 
wise  the  people  cannot  be  adequately  provided  for. 
The  people  are  practical  Catholics,  going  to  mass  every 
Sunday,  and  approaching  the  sacraments  every  week 
or  month,  or  at  least  on  all  the  great  feasts.  As  a  rule, 
they  belong  to  some  parish  society,  and  are  personally 
known  to  their  pastors.  We  would  like  to  see  the 
same  state  of  affairs  in  a  parish  of  seventy  thousand 
or  eighty  thousand  in  Paris,  where  only  one-tenth  of 
the  people  deserve  to  be  called  Christians. 

Despite  the  cold  rainy  weather  (it  was  nearing  the 
end  of  August,  too,  when  usually  the  heat  is  unbear 
able  in  New  York),  I  spent  the  whole  afternoon  out 
with  Father  Doyle. 

"What  do  you  wish  to  see?"  he  asked  me. 

"  Anything,"  I  replied,  "  which  with  the  help  of 
your  explanation  will  give  me  an  insight  into  the  moral 
and  religious  life  of  the  United  States." 

"  All  right,"  said  he.  "  I  will  attend  to  it.  There 
is  certainly  plenty  of  material  at  hand."  So  we  boarded 
an  electric  car  at  the  door. 


22  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

We  first  visited  the  Catholic  cathedral,  which,  as 
might  be  expected,  is  dedicated  to  St.  Patrick,  the 
Apostle  of  Ireland.  It  is  the  most  imposing  church 
edifice  in  America.  It  was  completed  in  1879,  at  a 
cost  of  about  twenty  millions  of  dollars.  The  Catho 
lics  are  very  proud  of  it;  and  it  is  in  fact  a  very  good 
copy  of  our  own  Gothic  churches.  It  rises  conspicu 
ously  amid  the  wealthy  residences  of  Fifth  Avenue, 
which  is  the  most  aristocratic  section  of  the  city.  But 
one  familiar  with  the  European  cathedrals  would  not 
stop  long  to  admire  it;  and  I  must  say  it  did  not  make 
much  of  an  impression  upon  me.  I  did  not  come  to 
New  York  to  see  another  Church  of  St.  Clotilda.  As 
vespers  were  not  to  begin  for  another  hour,  we  did  not 
remain  long  at  the  cathedral. 

After  passing  various  palatial  dwellings  owned  by 
different  members  of  the  Vanderbilt  family,  I  asked 
Father  Doyle  to  take  me  into  a  Protestant  church. 
There  were  a  "lot"  of  them,  as  they  say  in  English, 
about  two  or  three  in  every  "block."  But  many  of 
them  were  hermetically  sealed. 

"  Is  this  not  the  hour  for  services  ? "  I  asked 
Father  Doyle. 

"You  don't  understand,"  he  said,  laughingly; 
"these  churches  are  not  open  on  Sunday." 

And  as  I  did  not  grasp  his  meaning,  he  consented 
to  give  me  the  key  to  his  pleasantry.  The  congrega 
tions  of  these  churches  were  made  up  exclusively  of 
the  very  wealthy,  who,  together  with  their  ministers, 
spent  the  Summer  in  the  mountains  or  at  the  seashore. 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  23 

As  a  consequence,  many  of  the  churches  were  closed 
during  the  hot  season. 

We  soon  came,  however,  to  a  Presbyterian  church 
where  the  Gospel  was  preached  even  during  vacation- 
time.  We  entered  with  a  number  of  finely  dressed 
people,  and  were  forced  to  admire  the  luxurious  charac 
ter  of  this  temple  of  worship.  The  organ,  the  pulpit, 
the  carved  pews,  in  which  everyone  had  his  superbly 
bound  hymn-book,  everything  seemed  comfortable, 
and  in  very  good  taste.  The  millionaires  of  the  neigh 
borhood  could  feel  perfectly  at  home  here;  but  I  could 
hardly  picture  a  workingman,  even  if  dressed  in  his 
"  Sunday  best,"  daring  to  cross  the  threshold  of  such 
a  church,  although  in  America  class  distinctions  are 
less  marked  than  with  us.  The  prayers,  the  singing, 
and  the  reading  were  all  perfectly  carried  out;  and  one 
could  not  say  that,  because  aristocratic,  the  worship 
was  lacking  in  sincerity  or  depth. 

We  remained  discreetly  near  the  door,  despite  a 
kindly  invitation  to  go  forward,  and  left  during  the  sec 
ond  hymn,  just  before  the  sermon.  We  now  directed 
our  steps  toward  the  poorer  section  of  the  city,  in  order 
to  form  some  idea  of  the  foreign  population;  and  we 
continued  our  conversation  upon  the  present  religious 
condition  of  the  United  States.  All  that  I  learned 
that  evening  was  confirmed  in  every  particular  by  what 
I  saw  during  the  rest  of  my  trip.  I  was  indeed  very 
lucky  to  come  in  contact,  at  the  outset,  with  so  well- 
informed  a  man  as  Father  Doyle.  In  a  society  of 
zealous  missionaries,  he  is  surely  one  of  the  most 


24  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

zealous.  Preacher  and  writer,  a  man  of  affairs,  and 
a  thinker,  he  is  indefatigable  in  all  apostolic  works. 
From  San  Francisco,  where  he  was  born  about  forty- 
five  years  ago,  to  New  York,  where  he  manages  his 
printing  establishment  and  publishes  his  magazines 
and  tracts,  he  knows  the  country,  especially  in  its 
religious  aspect,  as  few  of  his  compatriots  do.  Not 
to  have  availed  myself  of  him  would  have  been  a  crime, 
especially  as  he  gave  his  services  to  me  with  so  good  a 
grace.  Beside,  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  he  could  not 
put  me  off  with  the  warning  words  printed  over  the 
door  of  his  editorial  office,  "  This  is  my  busy  day." 

From  my  talks  with  Father  Doyle,  as  also  later  on 
with  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Bishop  Spalding,  Archbishops 
Ireland,  Glennon,  and  Ryan,  the  Bishops  of  Rochester 
and  Wichita,  with  many  priests,  and  with  Catholic  and 
non-Catholic  laymen,  I  learned  that,  broadly  speaking, 
one-half  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  professed 
no  denominational  creed,  while  the  other  half  was 
divided  into  two  nearly  equal  groups,  of  Catholics  on 
the  one  hand,  and  of  Protestants  —  chiefly  Presby 
terians,  Episcopalians,  and  Baptists  —  on  the  other. 
President  Roosevelt  states,  in  his  book  on  New  York, 
that  the  Methodists  ancl  Baptists  are  the  most  numer 
ous  in  the  country  districts,  while  the  Catholic  Church 
holds  the  first  place  in  the  cities.  This  division  still 
holds  good ;  we  might  complete  it,  however,  by  saying 
that  the  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  are  most 
numerous  in  the  large  cities,  and,  unlike  the  Catholics, 
are  found  as  a  rule  among  the  wealthy  classes.  Most 
of  the  negroes  are  Protestants,  chiefly  Baptists. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  25 

What  is  especially  striking  is  the  fact  that  one-half, 
or  even  more,  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  are 
non -sectarian;  /'.  e.,  belong  to  no  religious  denomination 
whatsoever.  The  reader  will  perhaps  be  less  surprised 
when  he  learns  that  no  one  is  considered  as  belonging 
to  a  church  unless  his  name  is  subscribed  on  the  church 
books  and  he  fulfils  with  more  or  less  faithfulness  his 
spiritual  and  material  obligations.  We  must  grant  that 
if  we  reckoned  in  the  same  way,  our  European  coun 
tries,  and  especially  France,  would  not  make  any  better 
showing.  I  must  say,  however,  that  the  facts  men 
tioned  above  do  not  imply  that  the  American  people 
are  without  deep  religious  sentiments.  Even  the  non- 
church-goers,  for  the  most  part,  believe  in  God,  and 
in  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  they  sincerely  take  part 
in  the  prayers  the  nation  offers  up  to  God  on  certain 
solemn  occasions ;  and,  more  than  that,  they  love  the 
Gospel,  and  what  might  be  called  their  natural  religion 
is  always  Christian  in  its  outward  manifestation.  A 
great  many  of  them  say  their  prayers,  and  very  few  are 
ignorant  of  or  fail  to  recite  the  Lord's  Prayer.  The 
out-and-out  unbeliever,  who  boasts  of  his  unbelief,  is 
rarely  met  with  in  the  United  States;  and  as  for  our 
French  Anticlerical,  he  is  absolutely  unknown.  I  have 
gone  over  a  great  part  of  the  country,  and  have  bought 
at  random  every  kind  of  newspaper,  without  ever  hear 
ing  or  reading  a  word  against  religion,  although  the 
discussion  often  concerned  ecclesiastical  events  or 
issues,  like  the  school  question. 

But  still  the  bald  and  disquieting  fact  remains,  that 
in  this  great  country  one-half  of  the  people  are  abso- 


26  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

lutely  without  any  positive  religion.  It  is  not,  as  with 
us,  that  they  have  abandoned  the  faith  and  the  religious 
practices  of  their  childhood;  on  the  contrary,  the  people, 
as  a  rule,  have  been  born  and  bred  in  this  sad  state. 
And  while  in  a  certain  way  they  are  worse  off  than  our 
believers,  in  whose  souls  there  always  remain  some 
traces  of  the  religion  they  have  abandoned,  yet  on  the 
whole  their  condition  is  preferable ;  for  never  having 
had  the  faith,  they  are  without  the  bitterness  of  preju 
dice,  and  if  religion  ever  happens  to  be  presented  to 
them  in  its  true  beauty,  as  it  always  ought  to  be,  their 
souls  respond  quickly  to  it,  because  of  the  innate  long 
ing  for  God  which  is  deep  down  in  their  hearts.  As  far 
as  one  can  judge  by  appearances,  their  state  is  merely 
the  result  of  circumstances.  Their  parents,  if  Catholics, 
lost  their  faith  only  because  they  came  to  the  country 
at  a  time  when  the  Church  was  not  organized  well 
enough  to  take  care  of  them;  and  if  Protestants, 
because,  rinding  the  Church  deprived  of  the  support  of 
the  State,  and  receiving  no  spiritual  direction,  they  soon 
broke  up  into  all  sorts  of  fantastic  and  contradictory 
sects. 

Will  this  state  of  things  continue  ?  Will  it  even 
grow  worse?  It  is  difficult  now  to  answer  these  ques 
tions;  but  no  one  can  doubt  their  importance  to  the 
moral  and  religious  future  of  the  United  States.  Up  to 
the  present,  the  people  have  lived,  and  for  a  time  will 
continue  to  live,  on  the  remains  of  the  old  religion, 
all  their  education,  books,  customs,  and  institutions 
being  permeated  with  the  Christian  spirit  of  their 
ancestors.  But  to  use,  in  modified  form,  the  famous 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  27 

image  of  Renan,  if  we  can  be  content  with  the  shadow 
of  a  reality,  what  will  become  of  those  after  us  who 
possess  only  the  shadow  of  a  shadow?  Without  the 
fear  or  the  love  of  God,  without  the  check  which 
restrains  their  wicked  inclinations  or  the  spur  which 
incites  to  generous  impulses,  what  will  become  of  the 
American  of  to-morrow?  How  will  he  overcome  the 
temptations  of  pride  which  the  progress  of  science  will 
surely  bring,  and  how  will  he  withstand  the  evils  that 
material  progress  will  emphasize  day  by  day  ? 

This  is  doubtless  a  serious  problem ;  and  those 
Americans  who  feel  that  they  are  in  some  way  responsi 
ble  for  the  nation's  future  realize  it  full  well.  To  main 
tain  at  all  costs  the  religious  ideal,  and  the  Christian 
standard  above  wealth,  material  well-being,  and  power, 
-  this  is  the  one  thing  chiefly  insisted  upon  in  their 
discourses  by  the  leaders  of  American  public  opinion, 
by  the  most  clear-sighted  and  eminent  of  her  sons,  like 
President  Roosevelt  or  Bishop  Spalding.  It  is  indeed 
good  that  all  Christian  bodies  should  work  against  this 
great  danger  of  irreligion;  and  it  is  consoling  to  see 
that,  without  sacrificing  their  own  belief,  the  Christian 
churches  in  America  respect  one  another,  and  even  at 
times  unite  in  combating  some  great  evil,  as,  for  instance, 
the  vice  of  intemperance.  It  would  certainly  be  a  wel 
come  task  for  me  to  describe  all  the  good  done  by  the 
various  Protestant  sects;  and  if  I  have  little  to  say  on 
that  subject  here,  it  is  for  the  very  obvious  reason  that 
I  gathered  my  information  chiefly  in  my  visits  to  Catho 
lics.  At  the  same  time,  however,  it  is  admitted  that 
the  Protestant  churches  in  the  United  States  are  far  from 


28  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

exercising  the  same  moral  influence  that  is  exercised  by 
the  Catholic  Church.  Not  only  does  she  count  nearly 
as  many  adherents  as  all  the  other  churches  combined, 
but  she  has  also  a  far  more  powerful  influence  upon  the 
wills  and  hearts  of  the  people.  By  her  sacraments, 
especially  by  confession,  she  combats  intemperance, 
lust,  and  other  vices,  with  a  strength  that  the  most 
beautiful  discourses  of  Protestant  ministers  can  never 
equal.  By  her  numerous  schools,  club-houses,  asylums, 
orphanages,  hospitals,  refuges,  and  good  works  of  every 
kind  founded  and  fostered  by  the  many  religious  peo 
ple  who  devote  their  lives  thereto,  she  reforms  and  aids 
and  elevates  the  working-classes  who  still  make  up  the 
bulk  of  her  people.  But  her  chief  service  to  the  State, 
perhaps,  is  her  work  among  the  immigrants,  for  which 
many  far-sighted  non-Catholics  have  praised  her  highly. 
Within  the  last  year  there  have  come  to  the  United 
States  nearly  a  million  Europeans,  half  of  whom  are 
Catholics ;  two  hundred  thousand  of  the  poorest  have 
come  from  Italy  alone,  most  of  them  possessing  little 
more  than  the  ten  dollars  required  by  law.  If  the 
Church  had  not  been  on  hand  to  receive  them,  to 
watch  over  them,  to  offer  them  some  sort  of  moral 
refuge,  to  teach  their  children  religion,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  English  language  and  American  customs,  one 
could  hardly  view  without  dismay  the  possible  misery 
and  crime  to  come  from  this  ignorant  and  abandoned 
multitude.1  The  opinion  men  have  of  the  moral  and 

1  This  fact  was  brought  out  in  "The  New  York  Sun"  of  October  28,  1903: 
"Evidently,  therefore,  these  Italians,  poor,  ignorant,  and  utter  strangers  to  our  lan 
guage,  would  become  a  dangerous  element  in  the  community  except  for  the  fostering 
care  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  the  moral  and  religious  influences  it  throws 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  29 

national  usefulness  of  the  Catholic  Church  accounts 
in  great  measure  for  the  peculiar  esteem  in  which  she 
is  held  in  the  United  States,  and  which  places  her 
beyond  question  above  all  the  other  churches  in  the 
minds  of  the  people.  Of  course  there  are  other  reasons 
to  account  for  this  fact,  which  surprises  even  the  best- 
disposed  foreigners;  for  example,  her  divine  constitu 
tion,  her  discipline,  her  clear  and  logical  teaching,  and 
the  prestige  that  many  of  her  leaders  have  acquired  in 
a  country  almost  fanatical  in  its  worship  of  personal 
power  and  enthusiasm  over  its  great  men.  But  to 
pursue  these  considerations  would  carry  us  too  far. 
Let  us  say,  however,  that  America,  far  from  being,  as 
we  had  been  led  to  expect,  a  Protestant  country  in 
which  the  Catholic  Church  was  respected,  proved  to 
be,  in  our  opinion,  a  country  half  theistic  and  half 
Christian,  in  which  Catholicism  holds  the  highest 
place. 

Without  fully  treating  the  question  of  the  future  of 
the  Church  in  the  United  States,  it  might  be  well  to 
say  a  few  words  about  it,  especially  as  we  are  in  New 
York,  the  city  which  has  the  greatest  Catholic  popula 
tion  in  the  world  outside  of  Paris.1 

New  York  is  divided  into  two  dioceses  —  New 
York  and  Brooklyn.  In  New  York  there  are  1,200,- 
ooo  Catholics,  754  priests,  and  75,712  children  in 

about  them.  In  looking  after  their  spiritual  welfare  it  is,  therefore,  performing  a 
public  function  which  receives  the  highest  commendation  from  Protestants,  and  even 
from  religious  infidels."  The  same  sentiments  may  be  found  in  Roosevelt's  "  New 
York,"  Ch.  XIII. 

1  If  we  are  to  count  only  practical  Catholics,  it  is  probable  that  New  York  would 
lead  the  world. 


jo  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Catholic  schools.  Brooklyn  has  about  half  as  many 
more.  We  may  say,  in  passing,  that  Chicago  has 
about  one  million  Catholics.  Although  accurate  sta 
tistics  cannot  be  obtained,  still  a  reasonable  calculation 
would  put  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States,  inde 
pendently  of  the  new  colonies,  at  twelve  million  or 
perhaps  thirteen  million.1  For  some  time  their  num 
ber  has  been  rapidly  increasing.  Last  year  (1903) 
alone,  for  example,  three  hundred  thousand  to  four 
hundred  thousand  Catholics  came  to  the  United  States. 
The  Church,  which  in  former  times  lost  a  great  many 
of  these  new  arrivals,  owing  to  the  lack  of  priests 
and  chapels,  is  now  able,  save  in  some  remote  dis 
tricts,  to  look  after  them  all.  She  not  only  does  not 
lose  any  of  the  good  Catholics  that  come  to  her  shores, 
but  she  makes  good  Catholics  out  of  the  bad  ones, 
and  often  makes  their  children  better  Catholics  than 
they  would  have  been  had  they  remained  in  Europe. 

The  French  Canadians  are  not  easily  assimilated, 
but  they  keep  their  faith.  The  Irish  soon  become 
Americanized,  and  practise  their  religion;  they  give 
American  Catholicism  its  spirit  of  fervor  and  gener 
osity.  The  German  Catholics  as  a  rule  remain  faithful 
to  the  Church,  and  gradually,  though  not  without  diffi 
culty,  adapt  themselves  to  American  customs,  bringing 
with  them  the  element  of  gravity  and  moral  serious 
ness.  The  Italians,  especially  the  Southerners,  are  the 

1  There  are  6,600,000  Catholics  in  the  Philippines,  1,000,000  in  Porto  Rico, 
33,000  in  Hawaii,  3,000  in  American  Samoa,  and  9,000  in  Guam.  We  say  noth 
ing  of  Cuba,  for  theoretically  she  is  independent,  although  as  a  matter  of  fact  her 
religion,  like  everything  else,  is  (for  her  own  good)  under  the  control  of  the  United 
States. 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  31 

hardest  to  keep  in  line,  for  their  religion  seems  in  great 
measure  to  be  all  on  the  surface;  but  their  children, 
when  well  educated,  contribute  something  of  that  Latin 
finesse  less  conspicuous  in  the  Anglo-Saxon,  and  will 
in  time  form  a  worthy  portion  of  the  American  people, 
as  many  priests  have  already  recognized.  The  differ 
ent  Slavic  peoples  who  are  coming  to  America  in  greater 
numbers  every  day,  are  the  hardest  of  all  to  reach  or 
to  retain,  on  account  of  their  language,  their  social  con 
dition,  and  their  hereditary  disposition.  Extraordinary 
zeal,  however,  will  succeed  with  the  old  folk;  and 
once  they  are  secured,  the  children  will  follow.  The 
Poles  are  very  faithful  to  the  religion,  and  have  many 
priests  of  their  nationality  to  minister  to  their  wants. 

But  we  must  not  attribute  the  growth  of  Catholi 
cism  to  immigration  alone,  —  we  begin  to  realize  how 
great  this  growth  has  been,  when  we  reflect  that  in  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  were  only 
forty  priests,  twenty-five  churches,  and  one  hundred 
thousand  Catholics.  The  increase  is  due  in  great  part 
to  natural  growth;  for  the  Catholics  of  America,  even 
in  the  Eastern  States,  where  race  suicide  prevails  as  in 
France,  always  have  more  births  than  deaths. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  determine  what  part  the  con 
versions  of  Protestants  and  unbelievers  play  in  the 
growth  of  Catholicism  in  the  United  States.  We  do 
not  believe  that  it  in  any  way  compares  as  a  factor  with 
the  two  others  just  mentioned;  still,  it  would  be  wrong 
to  say  nothing  about  it.  Mr.  Roosevelt,  in  his  "  New 
York,"  declares  that  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  Catholicism  grew  in  numbers  by  the  conver- 


32  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

sions  of  native  Americans,  many  of  whom  held  high 
social  position.  He  adds,  however,  that  probably  these 
gains  were  more  than  compensated  by  the  loss  of 
Catholic  immigrants  who  left  the  Church  and  became 
Protestants.  To-day  the  losses  are  fewer  and  the  gains 
greater.  Many  city  pastors  have  told  me  that  one  of 
their  most  laborious  duties  is  the  personal  instruction 
of  converts;  to  cite  one  instance,  I  remember  a  priest 
of  Washington  telling  me  that  he  had  about  a  hundred 
converts  a  year. 

But  the  greatest  work  for  the  conversion  of  out 
siders  has  been  done  by  the  Paulist  Fathers  in  their 
missions  to  non-Catholics.  They  are  easily  masters 
in  this  special  work,  which  has  been  highly  praised  by 
Leo  XIII.1  Only  lately  has  it  begun  to  spread  all 
over  the  United  States,  and  other  religious  orders  are 
beginning  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  Paulists.  Rarely 
to-day  are  missions  or  retreats  given  in  the  United 
States  to  Catholics,  without  their  being  followed  by  a 
series  of  sermons  for  Protestants  and  unbelievers.  On 
such  occasions  the  church  is  so  crowded  that  Catholics 

1  In  1895,  the  Holy  Father  wrote  a  letter  to  Mgr.  Satolli,  the  Apostolic  Dele 
gate  at  Washington,  in  which,  after  expressing  his  disapproval  of  the  Parliament  of 
Religions,  he  said: 

"  While  we  consider  it  incumbent  upon  our  Apostolic  office,  Venerable  Brother, 
to  bring  this  to  your  attention,  we  are  also  pleased  to  promote  by  our  recommendations 
the  practice  of  the  Paulist  Fathers,  who  prudently  think  fit  to  speak  publicly  to  our 
dissenting  brethren,  both  in  order  to  explain  Catholic  doctrines  and  to  answer  any 
objections  presented  against  such  doctrines. 

"If  every  bishop  in  his  own  diocese  will  promote  this  practice,  and  a  frequent 
attendance  at  these  sermons,  it  will  be  very  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  us,  for  we  are 
confident  that  not  a  small  benefit  for  the  welfare  of  souls  will  arise  therefrom. 

"  Wishing  you  in  the  meantime,  Venerable  Brethren,  the  gifts  of  Divine  Grace, 
we  impart  to  you  with  the  most  loving  spirit  the  Apostolic  Benediction,  in  proof  of 
our  special  love. 

"  Given  in  Rome  this  1 8th  day  of  September,  1895,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of 
our  Pontificate." 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  33 

are  told  not  to  come  unless  they  are  accompanied  by 
non-Catholics.  The  missionaries  lecture  on  the  dog 
mas  of  the  existence  of  God,  the  future  life,  the  divine 
institution  of  the  Church,  and  her  office  in  perpetuating 
the  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  Short  but  solid  tracts  are 
freely  distributed  to  all  the  non-Catholics  present;  they 
are  also  requested  to  submit  in  writing  their  objections, 
which  are  answered  in  all  fairness  by  the  lecturers. 
These  missions  are  always  fruitful  in  conversions,  some 
of  them  bringing  in  from  a  hundred  and  fifty  to  two 
hundred  converts.  It  is  assuredly  one  of  the  best  of 
the  modern  ways  of  spreading  the  Gospel.  Perhaps 
(although  the  success  of  the  diocesan  missionaries  in 
Paris  would  prove  the  contrary)  this  work  might  fail  in 
countries  less  earnest  in  religious  matters ;  in  America 
it  is  doing  a  world  of  good. 

We  were  still  talking  about  the  growth  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  when,  without  suspecting  it,  I  found 
myself  in  the  midst  of  followers  of  Buddha  and  Con 
fucius.  I  saw  many  men  walking  in  the  muddy  streets, 
clothed  in  yellow,  blue,  and  green  silk  robes,  with  long 
queues  hanging  down  their  backs;  the  signs  above  the 
stores  were  in  a  strange  foreign  writing;  streamers  cov 
ered  with  sacred  inscriptions  hung  out  of  the  first-story 
windows  of  a  building  which  looked  more  like  a  cafe 
than  a  religious  temple.  We  were  in  Chinatown.  New 
York  has  been  from  the  beginning  one  of  the  most 
cosmopolitan  cities  of  the  world.  All  the  races  meet 
here  in  a  sort  of  common  colony.  It  is  indeed  remark 
able  how  they  live,  side  by  side,  without  conflict,  and 


34  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

are  gradually  moulded  into  a  new  and  superior  race,  in 
which  the  English  and  the  Irish  elements  predom 
inated.  In  Paris,  the  native-born  are  always  fewer 
than  the  French  of  the  provinces ;  in  New  York,  the 
native-born  are  almost  lost  amid  the  multitudes  born 
not  merely  elsewhere  in  America,  but  in  Italy,  Ger 
many,  Bohemia,  Norway,  Russia,  Asia  Minor,  and 
almost  every  country  of  the  globe. 

The  Chinese  are  not  very  numerous.  They  seldom 
become  Americanized,  but  as  a  rule  return  home  when 
once  they  have  got  enough  money  together.  Congress, 
in  1888,  passed  a  law  forbidding  them  to  enter  the 
country,  on  the  ground  that  they  were  a  menace  to 
American  labor.  Some  few,  however,  have  managed 
to  smuggle  themselves  over  the  line,  concealed  in  bales 
of  goods.  This  law  is  not  retroactive,  and  those  who 
lived  in  the  United  States  before  it  was  passed  are 
allowed  to  remain;  they  can  even  come  back  after  a 
visit  to  China,  if  they  can  prove  their  identity.  As 
they  bring  very  few  women  with  them,  and  as  they 
do  not  intermarry  with  the  whites,  it  is  easy  to  prophesy 
their  speedy  dying  out.  While  talking  to  a  group  of 
youngsters  in  the  Chinese  quarter,  I  took  notice  of 
one  boy  whose  father  was  Chinese  and  whose  mother 
was  Irish. 

We  next  proceeded  to  the  Italian  quarter,  Father 
Doyle  explaining  everything  to  me  as  we  went  along. 
There  were  surely  children  enough  there,  as  many, 
indeed,  under  this  foggy  sky  as  in  the  clear  sunshine 
of  Naples.  The  adults,  too,  follow  the  old-country 
custom  of  living  out  of  doors.  On  the  streets  and 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  35 

at  the  gates  of  the  houses  we  saw  animated  groups, 
listened  to  deep  voices  crying  out  in  English  and 
Italian,  or  watched  some  international  quarrel.  Nearly 
all  the  street  signs  are  in  Italian,  and  the  only  papers 
sold  in  this  district  are  Italian.  Being  Catholic  priests, 
we  were  well  received  by  these  people,  especially  by  the 
youngsters,  and  thus  had  ample  opportunity  of  study 
ing  at  first  hand  this  great  work  of  assimilation.  Many 
of  the  adults  spoke  English,  and  most  of  them  under 
stood  it;  we  noticed  that  several  disputes  were  being 
carried  on  in  the  language  of  Shakespeare. 

As  for  the  children,  though  they  understood  Italian, 
they  spoke  English  among  themselves,  and  preferred 
to  speak  it  with  us.  Ten  times  I  asked  different 
groups  which  they  loved  best,  Italy  or  America,  and 
eight  times  I  received  the  proud  answer,  "America"; 
twice  only  they  gave  me  the  indirect  answer,  "Italy  is 
prettier." 

One  feels  confident  that  this  little  world,  now  appar 
ently  so  wrapped  up  in  itself,  will  one  day  be  out-and- 
out  American.  The  same  work  of  assimilation  will  be 
carried  out  with  the  Germans,  the  Slavs,  the  few  French, 
and  the  Irish,  who  do  not  have  to  learn  a  new  language. 
"We  have  a  pretty  good  stomach,"  said  Father  Elliott 
to  me  one  day,  with  a  hearty  laugh;  "we  swallow  all 
that  come  to  us,  and  convert  them  into  our  own  flesh 
and  blood."  This  is  certainly  true;  and  despite  the 
temporary  national  groupings  which  still  obtain  in 
country  places,  or  in  the  mining  towns,  the  so-called 
danger  of  future  race  conflicts  that  some  prophesy  are 
more  a  figment  of  the  imagination  than  a  reality. 


36  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

Whence  comes  this  strange  American  power  of 
assimilation?  It  seems  to  me,  though  I  cannot  pre 
sume  to  give  all  the  reasons,  that  there  are  three  chief 
causes:  religion,  the  school,  and  the  higher  standard 
of  living.  Religion,  beside  implying  union  with  God, 
is  also  a  bond  among  men;  the  common  possession  of 
both  material  and  spiritual  things  will  soon  greatly  and 
imperceptibly  make  one  people  out  of  these  newcomers 
and  the  older  Americans.  With  very  few  exceptions, 
the  child  has  school-teachers  and  comrades  who  are  all 
Americans ;  his  studies  are  all  in  English,  from  the 
very  beginning ;  every  one  of  his  ideas  takes  on  a  turn 
and  an  expression  different  from  those  of  the  Old 
World.  I  recall  the  simple  explanation  given  me  by 
a  clear-minded  and  experienced  business  man  of  Pitts- 
burg,  who  said  that  most  of  these  foreigners  become 
more  attached  to  America  than  to  their  native  country, 
because  they  find  they  have  experienced  a  change  for 
the  better  in  consequence  of  the  great  resources  of 
America ;  and  if  in  some  exceptional  cases  they  become 
dissatisfied,  they  generally  return  home  in  a  short  while. 
Beside  this,  they  feel  freer  in  the  United  States,  and 
proud  of  a  country  which  thinks  itself  the  most  pro 
gressive  in  the  world.  One  can  readily  understand, 
then,  how  not  only  the  American-born,  but  even  the 
immigrants,  are  all  ready  to  die  for  the  Stars  and 
Stripes.  Ah,  we  that  love  France  so  well,  how  much 
more  deeply  would  we  love  her  if  she  too  were  good 
to  all  her  children ! 

The  Italian  quarter,  which  is  twice  as  large  as  the 
Chinese,  is  only  one-tenth  as  large  as  the  Jewish  sec- 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  37 

tion,  where  we  ended  our  afternoon  walk.  The  num 
ber  of  Jews  in  New  York  has  become  so  great  that 
I  am  almost  afraid  to  state  it,  for  fear  of  not  being 
believed.  From  reliable  statistics,  I  can  safely  say  they 
number  six  hundred  thousand  —  seven  times  as  many 
as  in  all  France !  This  is  about  half  of  the  entire 
number  of  Jews  in  the  United  States.  We  can 
account  for  this  high  figure  by  the  fact  that  for  several 
years  multitudes  have  been  obliged  to  leave  Russia 
and  Roumania,  and  the  anti-Semite  spirit  prevents 
them  from  gathering  together  in  any  great  numbers 
in  Europe. 

Anti-Semitism,  at  least  in  its  political  form,  does 
not  exist  in  the  United  States;  in  the  country  of  George 
Washington  they  would  no  more  think  of  legislating 
against  the  Jews  than  against  Jesuits.  Still,  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  Jews  in  New  York  City  is  not  regarded 
with  favor ;  merchants,  for  example,  view  with  dismay 
their  growing  power  in  the  commercial  world,  while 
society  absolutely  refuses  to  open  its  best  houses  to 
them.  We  went  through  their  thickly  peopled  quar 
ters  rather  rapidly,  from  the  poorest  section,  which  in 
no  way  reminds  one  of  the  leprous-looking  ghetto 
familiar  in  Europe,  to  the  section  which  ends  in 
Broadway,  New  York's  principal  street.  In  this  last 
quarter  their  presence  is  not  indicated  by  any  other 
sign  than  the  names  above  the  business  houses; 
going  in  the  other  direction,  however,  one  comes 
upon  a  strange  world,  where  the  foreign  element  is 
more  and  more  discernible  in  the  faces  of  the  people, 
in  their  strange  signs,  and  in  their  newspapers.  I 


38  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

bought  an  eight-page  paper.  One  page  was  English; 
the  other  seven,  printed  in  Hebrew  characters,  were 
Yiddish,  a  strange  mixture  of  Hebrew,  German, 
Polish,  and  other  languages.  Calling  to  mind  my 
studies  at  St.  Sulpice,  I  tried  to  decipher  the  name  of 
the  paper,  and  in  a  little  while  discovered  that  it  was 
"The  Jewish  World."  I  need  not  have  taken  the 
trouble,  for  soon  after  I  perceived  the  same  words 
printed  beneath  in  small  English  letters. 

Leaving  the  Hebrew  part  of  this  newspaper,  I 
began  to  read  the  one  English  page.  It  consisted  of 
a  poem  on  the  Kishineff  massacre,  a  sketch  of  English 
East  Africa,  in  which  Mr.  Chamberlain  had  just  invited 
the  Jews  to  colonize,  a  telegram  from  the  Zionist  Con 
gress  at  Basle,  and  other  bits  of  news,  with  announce 
ments  of  meetings  bearing  on  Jewish  interests.  I 
found  mention  of  a  decision  of  our  Municipal  Coun 
cil  of  Paris,  which  has  lately  named  a  street  after 
Eugene  Manuel,  the  poet  and  teacher,  who  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Jewish  Alliance.  An  editorial, 
half  Jewish,  half  American,  is  worth  quoting : 

"We  do  not  realize  what  dreamers  we  are.  We  are  demanding 
in  tears  a  home,  a  harbor,  a  place  of  refuge  against  persecution.  All 
that  is  necessary  is  a  corner  of  the  world  in  which  our  oppressed 
brethren  may  have  the  right  to  live  in  peace  and  security.  When 
men  cry  out  for  Zion,  the  fervent  Nationalist  declares :  « Palestine  or 
Canada,  it  makes  no  difference,  we  desire  a  home.'  But  once  the 
way  is  opened  to  a  place  of  security,  and  it  happens  to  be  East 
Africa  instead  of  Zion,  the  fervent  Nationalist,  who  kept  crying  out 
for  a  home,  draws  back ;  or  even  if  he  makes  a  step,  it  is  a  step 
backward  in  the  direction  of  Zion,  which  he  continues  weeping  for 
with  vain  regrets. 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  39 

"We  do  not  realize  what  dreamers  we  are,  nor  on  what  founda 
tion  our  dreams  are  built.  Great  Britain  with  one  hand  opens  East 
Africa  to  us,  while  with  the  other  she  closes  England. 

"Before  us  is  the  black  sea  of  doubt,  behind  us  is  the  Czar  with 
his  army  of  darkness  ;  while  on  both  sides  are  the  savage  threats  of 
barbarism,  cruelty,  and  hate.  But  even  if  we  are  still  doubtful  as  to 
the  place  of  rest,  the  very  fact  that  we  are  looking  for  it  is  full  of  hope. 
Where  there  is  life  there  is  hope ;  and  Israel  has  come  to  life  again. 
The  house  of  our  people  is  still  divided,  but  it  is  no  longer  divided 
against  itself." 

I  returned  to  Fifty-ninth  Street  reading  my  Hebrew 
paper,  and  thinking  over  this  psalm  of  the  twentieth- 
century  Jew  who  was  recalling  and  weeping  over  Jeru 
salem  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  as  his  ancestors 
of  old  had  done  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates.  I 
allowed  my  imagination  full  play.  Once  again  I  was 
back  in  far-away  France;  and  having  just  witnessed  so 
many  different  nationalities  living  peaceably  together 
in  a  free  country,  I  asked  myself  why  my  fellow- 
countrymen  who  had  shared  in  the  common  glories 
and  trials  of  centuries  could  not  get  along  together 

in  peace.     "We    do    not    realize   what    dreamers   we 

» 
are. 

The  following  day  I  tried  to  complete  my  stock 
of  information  about  the  mixture  of  nationalities  in 
New  York.  I  learned  that  before  the  English  inva 
sion,  in  the  days  when  the  city  was  still  known  as  New 
Amsterdam,  —  that  is  to  say,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  centu 
ries, —  the  Dutch  element  predominated,  with  French 
Huguenots,  Scotch,  and  some  Germans,  grouped  around 


40  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

in  varying  proportions.  In  the  latter  half  of  the  eigh 
teenth,  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries, 
came  an  increasing  number  of  English,  Scotch,  German, 
and  above  all,  Irish  settlers.  Between  1820  and  1860 
the  last-named  race  gained  a  numerical  ascendency ;  but 
during  the  past  forty  years  a  great  change  has  taken 
place.  Although  Ireland  and  England  are  still  send 
ing  over  great  numbers  of  immigrants,  the  largest  con 
tingents  come  from  Italy,  Germany,  Bohemia,  Russia, 
Hungary,  and  Norway.  Scarcely  ten  per  cent  of  the 
present  inhabitants  are  descendants  of  families  dwelling 
in  America  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  and  eighty 
per  cent  are  either  foreign-born  or  the  children  of  for 
eigners.  The  successful  blending  of  these  various 
elements  is  all  the  more  remarkable  from  the  fact  that 
each  group  preserves  traces  of  its  origin ;  never  once 
have  I  been  for  any  length  of  time  in  the  company  of 
a  New  Yorker  who  could  not  quickly  point  out  to  me 
the  nationalities  represented  by  the  various  passers-by. 
During  the  course  of  my  third  day  I  acquired  some 
little  skill  myself  in  this  new  form  of  amusement,  at 
which,  by  the  way,  the  charming  young  Paulist  who 
accompanied  me  was  an  expert. 

I  had  expressed  my  anxiety  to  see  the  liveliest 
quarters  of  this  astonishing  Island  of  Manhattan,  pur 
chased  less  than  three  centuries  ago  for  twenty-four 
dollars,  and  now  held  at  fabulous  prices  per  square 
inch.  So  we  visited  the  business  section,  inspected  a 
few  stores  and  newspaper  offices,  and  then  went  to 
the  New  Stock  Exchange.  From  the  gallery  over 
looking  the  great  floor  of  the  Exchange,  we  witnessed 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  41 

a  barbarous  spectacle.  They  tell  us  that  Paris  and 
London  and  Berlin  offer  sights  quite  equal  to  this, 
and  I  will  believe  it  if  I  must.  I  found  the  New  York 
Exchange  utterly  beyond  the  possibilities  of  descrip 
tion;  and  fleeing  away  as  fast  as  I  could,  I  was  fain  to 
seek  the  seclusion  of  the  neighboring  cemetery,  which, 
like  a  poetic  little  hamlet,  encircles  Trinity  Church. 
Around  this  beautiful  Gothic  temple,  very  pure  and 
sober  in  style,  are  grouped  tombs  a  century  and  a  half 
old.  Stones  hidden  in  the  grass  cover  the  ancestors 
of  the  great  metropolis,  and  so  reverently  is  their  sleep 
guarded  that  not  even  the  most  tempting  offers  can 
induce  the  trustees  of  the  church  to  surrender  this  holy 
ground.  Yet  every  square  foot  of  that  domain  repre 
sents  a  fortune.  Thus  to  respect  the  pious  purpose 
for  which  it  was  originally  destined  is,  in  my  opinion, 
to  give  clear  testimony  to  a  faith  in  other  than  material 
treasures,  and  nobly  to  proclaim  in  the  very  midst  of 
the  temple  of  Mammon  the  sovereignty  of  the  ideal. 

In  the  afternoon,  Father  Elliott  —  who  is  about  as 
fond  of  business  as  I  am,  and  far  less  curious  about 
it — offered  to  escort  me  to  Columbia  University  and 
Riverside  Park,  at  the  other  end  of  the  city.  New 
York  may  be  described  as  a  long  narrow  strip  of  land 
with  its  southern  extremity  containing  the  chief  por 
tion  of  its  traffic,  buildings,  and  noise,  and  the  northern 
end,  bright  and  broad,  representing  the  quieter  city  of 
homes  and  rural  dwellings.  It  is  somewhat  like  a 
tapering  bag  of  grain,  packed  tightly  at  the  bottom,  and 
with  considerable  room  at  the  top. 

As  we  were  about  to  start,  we  were  delayed  for  a 


42  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

while  by  the  unexpected  visit  of  Bishop  O'Gorman, 
Archbishop  Ireland's  old  schoolmate  of  the  little  semi 
nary  of  Meximieux  in  France,  and  for  the  past  seven 
years  the  head  of  the  diocese  of  Sioux  Falls  in  South 
Dakota.  The  conversation  that  ensued  was  interest 
ing —  so  very  interesting,  in  fact,  that  I  shall  have 
to  ask  the  reader  to  excuse  me  from  repeating  any 
of  it. 

Having  boarded  a  trolley  car,  we  were  quickly  car 
ried  past  a  block  of  "  colored "  houses,  for  here,  as 
everywhere  in  America,  the  negroes  have  their  own 
special  houses  and  churches.  This  was  my  first  intro 
duction  to  that  darkest  of  American  problems,  the 
Negro  Question.  There  will  be  time  to  return  to  it 
again;  but  even  at  this  first  moment,  Father  Elliott's 
words  showed  me  some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  situa 
tion.  Other  sights  soon  came  as  distractions;  for  on 
our  way  to  Columbia  University  we  passed  residences 
of  ever-increasing  beauty.  We  took  time  to  admire 
the  great  entrance  of  the  University,  and  stopped 
for  a  moment  at  the  library;  but  knowing  that  studies 
would  be  resumed  before  my  return  to  the  city,  I 
postponed  my  inspection  of  the  institution  to  a  later 
date. 

At  General  Grant's  tomb  we  spent  a  longer  time. 
My  guide  was  evidently  disappointed  at  my  being  so 
little  impressed  with  its  exterior,  of  a  classical  Greek 
type,  to  be  sure,  but  rather  cold.  I  tried  to  give  some 
consolation  by  praising  the  interior  more  heartily,  and 
by  listening  with  interest  to  stories  of  the  War  of 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  43 

Secession,  in  the  various  campaigns  of  which  Father 
Elliott  himself  had  fought,  and  some  of  his  immediate 
family  had  suffered  death.  The  thought  that  he  had 
thus  engaged  in  most  desperate  battles  while  a  mere 
boy,  out  of  the  finest  of  human  motives,  and  that  later 
on  he  had  again  offered  up  all  in  the  apostolic  career 
of  a  missionary,  excited  in  me  far  more  admiration 
than  I  dared  manifest;  so  I  contented  myself  with 
rallying  him  on  his  deeds  of  slaughter  and  his  hair 
breadth  escapes. 

Upon  one  point  we  soon  found  ourselves  in  agree 
ment,  namely,  the  beauty  of  the  view  from  Riverside 
Drive.  Looking  out  from  a  sort  of  long  narrow  park, 
we  saw  the  broad  current  of  the  Hudson  at  our  feet, 
and  in  the  distance  endless  ranges  of  wooded  hills,  form 
ing  an  amphitheatre,  sombre  and  impressive,  and  little 
different  to-day  from  the  scene  that  greeted  the  first 
bold  Dutchman  who  sailed  up  the  river  under  the 
impression  that  it  was  an  arm  of  the  sea,  and  would 
prove  to  be  the  long-sought  Northwest  Passage  to  the 
Indies.  That  was  less  than  three  hundred  years  ago, 
and  at  the  very  time  that  other  explorers  farther  north 
were  venturing  into  the  St.  Lawrence  with  the  hope 
of  coming  upon  China.  Those  were  the  fabulous 
days  of  America,  when  nearly  naked  savages  would 
emerge  from  the  wilderness,  curious  to  see  the  pale 
faces,  and,  gathered  on  the  bank  in  astonished  delight, 
would  receive  the  miserable  trinkets  given  them  in 
exchange  for  precious  furs  and  unknown  fruits.  And 
yet  from  this  same  savage  land  two  centuries  later  went 


44  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

forth  one  of  the  inventions  which  have  contributed 
perhaps  more  than  anything  else  to  the  modern  pro 
gress  of  the  world ;  for  on  the  waters  of  the  Hudson, 
Robert  Fulton  launched  the  first  steamboat. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  45 


CHAPTER  III 

FROM    NEW  YORK   TO    MONTREAL    BY  WAY 
OF    BOSTON 

Regrets  at  Missing  the  Hudson  River  and  the  New  York  Lakes. 
—  Boston. — Its  General  Appearance. — An  Historic  Town. — 
Monuments  and  Schools. —  Harvard  University. —  French 
Memories. —  An  Evening  Vision. —  A  Model  Parish. —  From 
Boston  to  Montreal. 

T^ROM  New  York  back  to  New  York  again,  by  way 
•""  of  Boston,  Montreal,  Ottawa,  the  Thousand 
Islands,  Rochester,  Buffalo,  Chicago,  Peoria,  St.  Louis, 
Pittsburg,  Washington,  Baltimore,  and  Philadelphia, 
—  such,  in  general  outline,  is  the  trip  that  my  readers 
are  now  invited  to  take  with  me.  We  shall  see  great 
cities  and  mighty  rivers,  and  stop  for  a  moment  at 
Niagara  Falls ;  but  our  chief  interest  will  be  neither 
pleasant  landscapes  nor  immense  towns.  What  will 
attract  us  most  and  detain  us  longest  will  be  men. 
To  see  America  is  all  very  well  in  its  way,  but  what 
we  have  come  especially  to  see  is  the  Americans.  For 
the  time  being,  however,  and  while  waiting  for  people 
to  return  from  their  summer  vacations  to  the  routine 
of  educational,  political,  and  social  affairs,  we  may  as 
well  direct  our  attention  to  Canada.  Curious  enough 
it  surely  would  be  if  a  Frenchman,  on  his  first  trans 
atlantic  trip,  should  feel  free  to  excuse  himself  from 
the  obligation  of  making  at  least  a  hasty  pilgrimage  to 


46  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

this  former  colony  of  his  country.  Were  there 
further  need  of  justifying  this  item  of  our  itinerary, 
we  might  find  ample  excuse  in  the  general  warning 
given  us  to  finish  out  the  warm  season  in  the  North. 

Undoubtedly  the  most  picturesque  route  from  New 
York  to  Montreal  would  have  been  up  the  Hudson 
River  to  Albany  by  steamer,  north  by  rail  to  Lake 
George,  and  thence  by  steamer  again  through  Lake 
George  and  Lake  Champlain.  The  Hudson  —  a  mod 
est  stream  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long  — 
is,  we  learned,  navigable  and  subject  to  tides  for  fully 
half  that  distance.  To  the  south  it  empties  into  New 
York  Bay;  to  the  north  it  connects,  by  means  of  the 
Erie  and  Champlain  canals,  with  the  Great  Lakes  and 
the  River  St.  Lawrence.  In  point  of  beauty  it  is  no 
less  remarkable  than  as  a  commercial  waterway.  Fre 
quently  travellers  compare  it  to  the  Rhine ;  but  Amer 
icans,  while  admitting  that  their  river  must  take  second 
rank  in  the  matter  of  legends  and  ruins,  affirm  that  it 
is  ten  times  grander,  that  its  "  Palisades  "  are  incom 
parably  superior  to  anything  on  the  German  river, 
that  it  flows  through  mountains  instead  of  hills,  that 
for  vineyards  it  offers  virgin  forests;  in  a  word,  that 
while  the  Rhine  may  be  regarded  as  a  lyric,  the  Hud 
son  is  nothing  less  than  an  epic  poem. 

We  should  have  been  very  glad  to  enjoy  an  oppor 
tunity  of  testing  this  comparison,  especially  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  what  we  did  see  of  the  Hudson,  from  the 
train,  near  Yonkers,  appeared  fully  to  justify  the  Amer 
ican  claim.  Moreover,  it  would  have  been  an  added 
satisfaction  to  stop  over  at  Albany  long  enough  to  visit 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  47 

the  New  York  State  Capitol,  a  building  almost  as 
beautiful  as  the  National  Capitol  at  Washington;  for, 
truth  to  tell,  we  were  rather  curious  to  see  the  home  of 
the  New  York  Legislature,  and  to  peep  at  those  famous 
lobbies  which  witness  so  much  plotting  and  planning 
that  affects  the  interests  of  the  whole  nation.  Then, 
too,  had  we  gone  by  the  river  route  we  should  have 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Lake  George  and  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  two  charming  bodies  of  water  that  stretch  between 
the  Green  Mountains  on  the  east  and  the  Adiron- 
dacksonthe  west,  like  immense  reservoirs  of  cool  pure 
air,  visited  each  summer  by  a  vast  number  of  Amer 
icans  seeking  to  renew  their  health  and  strength.  I 
should  indeed  have  liked  to  do  all  this;  but  a  tourist 
must  learn  to  practise  self-denial,  to  substitute  what  is 
better  for  what  is  good.  To  miss  the  Hudson  was  a 
mistake,  perhaps;  but  to  miss  Boston  would  have  been 
a  crime.  Bad  enough,  in  all  conscience,  was  the  imper 
tinence  of  undertaking  to  visit  Boston  in  the  sum 
mer,  and  thus  to  forego  all  chance  of  mingling  in  the 
social  and  intellectual  activity  of  which  "  the  American 
Athens"  is  so  proud. 

Except  for  the  fact  that  it  gave  us  our  first  experi 
ence  on  an  American  railroad,  the  trip  from  New  York 
to  Boston  possessed  but  little  interest.  Our  train  was 
a  "  Pullman  limited";  that  is  to  say,  it  consisted  exclu 
sively  of  "parlor  cars,"  good  spacious  sitting-rooms, 
furnished  with  comfortable  revolving  chairs  uphol 
stered  in  green  velvet.  Like  all  American  coaches, 
each  car  was  made  up  of  a  single  compartment  stretch 
ing  its  entire  length.  As  a  rule,  French  travellers 


48  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

object  strongly  to  this  arrangement,  which  puts  them 
under  a  sort  of  constant  public  inspection;  but  Amer 
icans  never  seem  to  mind  it  in  the  least.  Each  indi 
vidual  looks  as  if  he  had  always  been  used  to  do 
exactly  as  he  pleased,  without  experiencing  either  the 
fear  of  criticism  or  the  desire  of  criticising;  and  I  must 
say  that,  when  we  come  to  reflect  upon  it,  we  should 
attach  but  little  importance  to  what  is  being  thought 
of  us  by  our  neighbors,  when  as  a  matter  of  fact  they 
are  not  thinking  of  us  at  all. 

For  five  or  six  hours  we  were  treated  to  a  lovely 
succession  of  field  and  forest,  interrupted  by  frequent 
glimpses  of  country  villas  clustered  about  some  shady 
bay  or  inlet.  But  for  the  occasional  stretches  of  sandy 
beach,  the  whole  land  seemed  to  be  one  long  series  of 
parks  and  gardens.  Now  and  again,  it  is  true,  we 
passed  a  farm,  and  at  times  a  commercial  or  industrial 
centre,  like  Bridgeport,  New  Haven,  Hartford,  Spring 
field,  Worcester —  names  that  hint  of  English  origin; 
but  in  the  main  we  seemed  to  be  travelling  through  a 
vast  pleasure-region  filled  with  the  country  houses  of 
people  who  carried  on  business  elsewhere.  As  for 
serious  agricultural  activity,  we  learned  that  land  in 
this  section  is  far  too  dear  to  allow  of  any  hope  of 
competition  with  the  West. 

Boston,  founded  in  1623,  on  a  narrow-necked 
peninsula,  has  been  steadily  growing  ever  since,  over 
the  adjoining  islands  and  shores,  the  shallow  Back 
Bay  of  the  Charles  River,  and  the  marshes  surround 
ing  the  immense  inlet  that  forms  the  city's  harbor. 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  49 

It  would  be  hard  to  imagine  anything  less  regular  in 
form  than  this  conglomeration  of  villages  and  suburbs 
inhabited  by  nearly  a  million  of  people ;  and  even 
if  it  were  a  possibility,  little  value  could  attach  to  the 
most  careful  description  of  a  place  which  changes  its 
aspect  each  year,  or  rather  each  week.  Buildings  go 
up  one  by  one  on  every  side;  the  gaps  are  rilled  in; 
the  neighboring  towns  are  growing  up  to  the  very  walls 
of  the  city.  So  the  man  who  is  anxious  to  have  an 
exact  notion  of  Boston  must  wait  until  it  has  finished 
expanding  —  a  consummation  not  likely  to  be  realized 
for  some  time  to  come.  Unlike  most  American  towns, 
Boston  in  its  central  part  is  as  puzzling  as  a  European 
city.  Why,  it  actually  contains  buildings  that  are  two 
hundred  years  old!  and  —  unheard-of  marvel  —  it  has 
streets  that  twist  and  turn !  Like  the  cities  of  England, 
France,  Greece,  and  Egypt,  Boston  too  boasts  of 
historic  recollections,  and  cherishes  the  names  of 
various  great  men  who  have  been  born  or  have  lived 
within  its  boundaries.  It  was  at  Boston,  in  1773,  that 
the  killing  of  a  number  of  Americans  by  British  troops 
started  the  War  of  Independence.  It  was  at  Boston, 
in  1706,  that  Benjamin  Franklin  first  saw  the  light; 
and  although,  of  course,  intervening  years  have  swept 
away  every  trace  of  his  old  home,  one  is  permitted  to 
gaze  at  the  colossal  office-building,  ornamented  with 
the  great  man's  statue,  which  has  taken  its  place.  As 
I  looked  at  it  my  saddened  soul  involuntarily  recalled 
the  thought  of  Florence,  and  of  Dante's  home  guarded 
with  jealous  care  since  the  thirteenth  century.  Among 
other  objects  of  interest  I  saw  the  house  where  Lafayette 


50  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

had  lodged  in  1824;  and  the  old  Cathedral,  dating 
back  as  far  as  Cheverus,  and  still  preserved,  although 
a  new  one  has  been  erected  since.  Another  memory 
kept  green  in  Boston  is  that  of  its  great  writers  and 
teachers,  such  as  Emerson,  Longfellow,  Hawthorne, 
Bancroft,  Prescott,  Channing,  Agassiz,  and  Lowell. 

Despite  the  possession  of  all  these  perfectly  well 
authenticated  traditions  handed  down  from  the  eigh 
teenth  and  nineteenth  centuries,  Boston  is  really  a  very 
modern  city,  with  underground  railways,  with  electric 
cars  —  "smokers"  in  only  one  sense  of  the  word  — 
with  a  business  section  full  of  fierce  commercial  fever, 
and  with  a  circle  of  exquisitely  cultured  people  whose 
luxurious  houses  line  the  long,  quiet,  lawn-blessed  ave 
nues  of  the  residence  quarter.  Streets,  boulevards,  and 
parks,  all  are  overlooked  by  handsome  structures, 
Queen  Anne  houses  covered  with  ivy  or  Virginia 
creeper,  sober  French  pavilions,  antique  dwellings  with 
Grecian  columns  and  peristyles ;  and  on  every  side 
flowers  and  grass  and  trees,  with  never  once  a  domi 
neering  wall  to  shut  off  these  wonders  from  the  passers- 
by.  Such,  although  of  course  my  rough  description  falls 
far  short  of  the  richly  varied  reality,  is  the  appearance 
of  the  wealthy  quarter  of  Boston,  as  indeed  of  many 
American  cities.  Generally  speaking,  the  houses  of 
the  working-classes  reproduce,  on  a  humbler  scale,  and 
with  less  variety,  these  constant  attempts  at  individual 
family  homes,  and  to  my  way  of  thinking,  our  own  great 
cold  apartment-houses  are  far  less  agreeable  than  these 
modest  little  dwellings  of  frame  or  brick  with  their  tiny 
lawns.  True,  American  cities  stand  no  comparison 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  51 

1 

with  those  of  Europe  for  general  picturesqueness  and 
for  wealth  of  associations.  Chicago  and  Cincinnati  can 
scarcely  hope  to  charm  the  tourist  as  do  Siena,  Aigues- 
Mortes,  and  Stratford-on-Avon.  From  another  and 
by  no  means  insignificant  point  of  view,  however,  the 
American  cities  rank  first,  namely,  when  we  consider 
a  city  as  the  home  of  living  men. 

In  any  event,  Boston  would  hardly  be  selected  as 
a  city  of  the  banal  type.  She  still  preserves  the  old 
State  House  and  Town  Hall, —  places  where,  in  a  great 
degree,  the  destinies  of  American  liberty  were  deter 
mined.  Among  her  dearest  treasures  is  the  Old  South 
Meeting  House,  a  sort  of  chapel  erected  in  1729  on 
the  site  of  the  church  where  Benjamin  Franklin  had  ear 
lier  been  baptized,  now  become  a  museum  of  historic 
"curios"  and  a  lecture-hall  for  instruction  in  local  his 
tory.  We  shall  not  delay  over  the  more  modern  build 
ings,  although  many  of  them  are  really  impressive;  but 
the  Public  Library  and  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts 
deserve  especial  attention.  In  the  matter  of  Egyptian, 
Greek,  and  Roman  antiquities,  we  found  Boston  as 
well  equipped  as  most  of  the  great  cities  of  Europe. 
As  for  paintings,  she  equals  the  others  in  examples  of 
Flemish,  Italian,  and  English  masters,  and  surpasses 
nearly  all  in  nineteenth-century  French  masterpieces. 
The  Public  Library  contains  at  present  some  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  volumes,  with  a  capacity 
for  about  a  million  and  a  half  more.  The  number  of 
its  yearly  issues  is  one  million  two  hundred  thousand, 
a  figure  which  does  not  include  the  books  read  on  the 
premises.  A  feature  of  the  library  which  impressed 


52  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

me  as  particularly  admirable  was  the  rule  limiting  chil 
dren  to  the  use  of  one  department,  from  which  all 
objectionable  books  are  carefully  excluded.  The  build 
ing  itself,  erected  at  a  cost  of  two  and  a  half  million 
dollars,  is  simple,  almost  severe,  in  style.  With  the 
exception  of  a  central  court,  beautiful  enough  for 
Italy,  by  far  the  finest  thing  in  it  is  the  series  of 
allegorical  frescoes,  by  Puvis  de  Chavannes,  in  the 
main  hall. 

The  number  of  schools,  academies,  and  colleges  in 
Boston  borders  on  the  incredible.  They  are  divided 
about  equally  between  the  two  sexes.  The  city  takes 
great  pride  in  its  reputation  for  learning  and  art.  A 
common  proverb  declares  that  in  forming  a  judgment 
about  a  man,  New  Yorkers  ask,  "  How  much  is  he 
worth?"  Philadelphians,  "Who  was  his  grandfather?" 
and  Bostonians,  "  Is  he  cultured?"  It  appears  that 
New  York  nq  longer  admits  Boston's  claim  to  intel 
lectual  supremacy,  but  the  latter  city  entertains  not  the 
slightest  doubt  about  the  matter.  Perhaps  a  conclusive 
argument  in  favor  of  Boston  is  furnished  by  the  prox 
imity  of  Cambridge,  distinct  from  Boston  only  by  its 
municipal  independence,  and  famous  as  the  site  of 
Harvard,  the  first  of  all  American  universities  in  age, 
wealth,  and  reputation. 

By  the  size  and  beauty  of  its  buildings,  scattered 
about,  English  fashion,  in  an  immense  park ;  by  its 
enormous  revenues;  by  the  rich  equipment  of  its 
libraries,  museums,  and  laboratories ;  by  the  reputa 
tion  of  its  professors,  the  influence  of  its  teaching,  the 
number  of  its  publications,  and  the  prestige  of  the 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  53 

great  men  trained  in  its  halls  or  installed  in  its  chairs, 
Harvard  leaves  on  the  mind  of  the  traveller  an  impres 
sion  almost  equal  to  that  carried  away  from  Oxford  or 
Heidelberg.  After  all,  it  is  something  to  be  able  to 
point  out  from  your  door  the  very  elm  under  which 
Washington  took  command  of  the  Continental  forces, 
on  July  3,  1775. 

Be  it  ever  so  interesting,  however,  Harvard  in 
vacation-time  need  not  detain  us  long.  In  a  month 
or  two  we  shall  have  ample  opportunity  to  become 
acquainted  with  university  life  in  America.  Moreover, 
Harvard  really  seems  so  near  to  Paris  that  one  can 
hardly  refuse  to  believe  in  the  likelihood  of  another 
visit  to  it  at  a  better  season  and  a  no  very  distant  date. 

As  Boston  passes  for  the  most  intellectual  city  of 
the  United  States,  so  too  it  is  commonly  supposed  to 
be  the  one  most  thoroughly  permeated  with  French 
culture.  Its  era  of  prosperity  dates  back  to  the  time 
when  French  manners  and  French  literature  set  the 
fashion  for  the  world.  Fidelity  to  its  own  traditions, 
therefore,  keeps  Boston  faithful  to  those  of  France. 
It  follows  our  books  and  periodicals  with  close  atten 
tion,  and  cultivates  the  study  of  our  language  so  assidu 
ously  that  the  French  lecturer,  summoned  yearly  to 
Harvard  by  the  terms  of  a  special  foundation,  always 
finds  a  large  and  appreciative  audience  ready  to  welcome 
him.  Among  these  lecturers  have  been  included  — 
to  name  but  two  or  three —  M.  Brunetiere,  M.  Doumic, 
and  M.  A.  Leroy-Beaulieu. 

Another  thing  which   has    much   to   do   with  the 


54  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

maintaining  of  French  prestige  in  Boston  is  the  fact 
that  Catholicism,  now  the  religion  of  so  many  of  the 
inhabitants,  was  developed,  if  not  practically  intro 
duced,  by  a  saintly  Frenchman,  Bishop  Cheverus. 
And  perhaps  still  another  element  of  influence  is  dis 
cernible  in  the  great  Diocesan  Seminary  at  Brighton, 
founded  by  French  Sulpicians  under  the  leadership 
of  the  learned,  polished,  pious,  tactful,  kindly  Abbe 
Hogan.  An  Irishman  by  birth,  and  hence  just  the 
man  for  an  American  foundation,  he  had,  without 
renouncing  allegiance  to  his  native  land,  lived  and 
taught  in  France  for  nearly  forty  years.  It  may  be 
safely  affirmed  that  the  strong  affection  he  developed 
for  France  was  reciprocated  by  that  country,  which  still 
cherishes  the  memory  of  the  years  when  the  picked 
men  of  her  priesthood  gathered  at  the  feet  of  this  dis 
tinguished  stranger  in  the  Grand  Seminary  of  Paris. 

But  we  have  digressed.  Well,  Americans  need  not 
be  jealous.  At  the  present  a  native-born  Sulpician  is 
president  of  the  Seminary  at  Brighton,  and  the  same 
holds  true  at  New  York,  and  at  Baltimore.  And  for 
the  benefit  of  prospective  visitors  from  France,  it  may 
be  well  to  remark  that  this  condition  of  affairs  need 
never  cause  them  any  apprehension.  Everywhere  they 
will  recognize  —  though  not,  of  course,  without  cer 
tain  felicitous  adaptations  —  the  best  traditions  of  St. 
Sulpice. 

Of  course  we  visited  Brighton,  and  naturally  we 
did  so  with  a  feeling  of  deep  regret  that  we  had  not 
arrived  a  year  earlier,  during  Abbe  Hogan's  lifetime. 
We  were  entertained  at  the  Seminary  during  our  entire 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  55 

stay  in  Boston.  Nothing  could  be  more  cordial  than 
our  welcome,  and  my  companion  was  made  especially 
happy  by  hearing  his  mother-tongue  in  common  use 
again;  for  half  the  professors  were  compatriots  of  ours. 
I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  walk  I  took  with  one  young 
member  of  the  faculty,  immediately  after  my  first  meal 
at  the  Seminary.  Having  arrived  at  nightfall,  in  a 
closed  carriage,  I  had  enjoyed  but  little  opportunity 
of  observing  the  surrounding  country.  So,  about  nine 
o'clock,  this  professor  and  I  went  out  for  a  walk  in  the 
superb  moonlight.  We  crossed  the  little  wood  and 
ascended  a  neighboring  hill.  At  our  feet  the  bright 
clouds  were  reflected  back  from  the  surface  of  an 
immense  reservoir,  as  from  a  splendid  lake ;  beyond, 
alternate  stretches  of  light  and  shade  marked  the  sites 
of  villages  and  woods ;  and  in  the  distance,  far  as  eye 
could  reach,  glittered  the  lights  of  the  great  city  and 
the  countless  twinkling  signals  of  ships  anchored  in  the 
harbor.  In  the  presence  of  this  immense  panorama, 
and  steeped,  as  it  were,  in  the  mystery  of  night,  we  ex 
changed  ideas  with  as  much  freedom  as  if  we  had  always 
been  intimate  friends.  To  our  common  joy,  we  found 
that  both  of  us  —  he  by  experience,  and  I  by  study  and 
sympathy — had  learned  to  love  this  great  and  glorious 
land  of  liberty  and  faith  and  tolerance,  the  place  of  all 
places  where,  in  times  of  moral  exhaustion,  men  may 
hope  to  refresh  their  souls  as  they  renew  their  physical 
health  in  the  air  of  the  mountains  or  the  sea. 

Poetry,  you  say !  Well,  perhaps  so ;  but  with  a 
basis  in  fact,  as  was  demonstrated  on  the  morrow  on 
our  visit  to  a  parish  in  charge  of  the  Redemptorist 


56  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Fathers.  And,  by  the  way,  what  we  saw  there  gave 
us  occasion  to  reflect  on  the  wisdom  of  a  policy  which 
attaches  religious  communities  to  parishes,  instead  of 
permitting  them  to  open  chapels  of  their  own  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  secular  pastors. 

The  parish  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Help  con 
tains  about  eleven  thousand  souls.  I  fear  I  must  have 
shocked  the  good  father  who  was  showing  us  about 
the  church,  by  my  question  as  to  the  number  of  the 
parishioners  who  were  accustomed  to  make  their  Easter 
duty.  He  answered  that  with  very  rare  exceptions 
every  member  of  the  parish  went  to  the  sacraments 
at  Easter,  and  that  nearly  all  went  on  Christmas  and 
Pentecost,  and  St.  Patrick's  Day  as  well.  The  great 
majority  of  the  people  approached  the  altar  on  an 
average  of  once  a  month ;  and  to  facilitate  this  practice, 
particular  days  are  set  apart  for  the  different  classes, — 
one  Sunday  for  the  men,  one  for  the  women,  one  for 
the  boys,  and  one  for  the  girls.  The  day  of  our  visit 
was  September  third ;  and  we  were  informed  that  the 
following  morning,  the  first  Friday  of  the  month, 
would  see  between  fifteen  hundred  and  two  thousand 
people  at  the  altar-rail.  Lest  this  seem  an  astonish 
ing  exception,  I  may  as  well  add  that  we  were  given 
practically  the  same  number  of  communicants  for 
this  same  "  first  Friday "  at  the  church  of  St.  John 
Baptist  in  Montreal,  a  parish  in  charge  of  secular 
priests.  At  the  risk  of  appearing  rather  obtuse,  I 
questioned  the  Redemptorist  father  still  further. 

"And  how  many  of  your  parishioners  go  to  mass 
on  Sunday?" 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  57 

"Why,  often  all  of  them,  of  course,"  was  the  reply, 
"excepting  the  sick  and  the  very  small  children." 

With  this  I  desisted,  having  learned  my  lesson  at 
last;  for  it  had  finally  dawned  upon  me  that  in  the 
United  States  to  be  a  Catholic  means  to  practise  the 
Catholic  religion. 

Every  person  in  this  parish  is  reached  by  one  or 
other  of  the  six  sodalities,  two  of  which  are  intended 
for  boys  and  girls  under  sixteen  years  of  age,  one  for 
young  men,  one  for  young  women,  one  for  married 
men,  and  one  for  married  women.  The  priests  keep 
careful  lists  of  their  parishioners,  and  should  anyone 
hold  aloof  from  the  societies,  or  miss  mass  on  Sunday, 
he  or  she  would  be  looked  up,  admonished,  and  if 
possible  recalled  to  a  better  observance  of  religious 
duties.  The  parochial  school,  with  a  teaching  force 
of  thirty  Sisters  of  Notre*  Dame,  and  one  laywoman, 
contains  as  pupils  891  boys  and  967  girls.  Besides 
these,  there  are  some  three  or  four  hundred  other 
Catholic  children  in  the  parish  who  attend  the  public 
schools ;  and  the  whole  two  thousand  are  looked  out 
for  by  the  proper  sodalities. 

The  parish  buildings  occupy  an  entire  city  square, 
or  block;  so  that  a  handsome  and  by  no  means  unim 
portant  town  is  thus  formed  by  the  beautiful  church, 
the  rectory,  the  school,  and  club-house.  It  all  looks 
thoroughly  comfortable,  too,  and  with  its  air  of  simple 
but  substantial  grandeur,  free  from  luxury  or  affectation, 
but  impressing  one  with  its  air  of  dignity,  content 
ment,  and  happiness. 

A  private  dynamo  in  a  separate  building  provides 


58  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

steam  heat  and  electric  light  in  a  most  economical  way. 
The  theatre  for  lectures  and  entertainments,  the  club- 
rooms,  the  library,  the  gymnasium  with  its  equipment 
for  games  and  for  baths,  are  all  quite  irreproachable; 
and  I  can  well  believe  that  reunions  are  looked  forward 
to  with  eager  anticipation.  Thus  religion,  education, 
and  recreation  are  all  provided  by  the  parish.  It  is 
like  a  return  to  the  Middle  Ages,  but  with  greater 
perfection  of  detail,  more  independence,  a  wise  adap 
tation  to  new  conditions. 

As  in  the  good  old  ages  of  faith  the  Cathedral  was 
built  by  the  people  themselves,  so  this  church  and  all 
its  dependencies  have  been  erected  by  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  the  faithful,  the  whole  costing  over  a 
million  dollars.  The  Redemptorists  did  not  enter 
Boston  until  1871,  and  started  the  church  only  in 
1876.  Let  me  again  insist  on  the  fact  that  the  parish 
numbers  but  eleven  thousand  souls,  and  add  that  it  is 
in  a  district  by  no  means  wealthy.  The  entire  expenses 
have  been  met  by  the  offerings  of  people  comparatively 
poor;  and  while  we  can  well  imagine  the  spirit  of  sacri 
fice  and  generosity  implied  in  this,  at  the  same  time 
we  must  realize  the  strong  bond  of  sympathy  thus 
established  between  the  parishioners  —  who,  by  the 
way,  receive  an  account  of  every  penny  spent  —  and  the 
institutions  which  they  themselves  have  both  planned 
and  paid  for;  in  a  word,  between  the  people  and  the 
religion  which  they  are  supporting. 

Travelling  by  the  shortest  route,  we  arrived  at 
Montreal  after  a  railroad  journey  of  eleven  hours, 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  59 

more  than  enough  for  tourists  so  pressed  for  time. 
Friends  kept  repeating  how  much  more  picturesque 
would  be  the  route  by  Albany  and  the  New  York 
lakes ;  but  we  held  to  our  first  plan,  although  it  cost 
us  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  to  the  Catholic  Summer 
School  at  Lake  Champlain.  Nothing,  it  would  seem, 
can  be  more  inviting  than  the  combination  of  study  and 
innocent  recreation  afforded  by  this  delightful  institu 
tion,  which  gathers  together  from  many  different  States 
large  numbers  of  Catholics  anxious  to  receive  —  or  give, 
instruction.  To  me  the  attraction  was  all  the  stronger, 
inasmuch  as  I  still  retained  most  agreeable  remem 
brances  of  my  experience  as  a  learner,  and  again  as  a 
teacher,  at  the  Summer  School  of  Edinburgh.  To 
become  well  acquainted  with  the  six  or  seven  hun 
dred  Catholics  at  the  Summer  School  would,  however, 
require  at  least  a  fortnight,  and  so  long  a  stay  was 
simply  impossible  if  our  original  itinerary  was  to  be 
retained.  Moreover,  we  found  that  the  school  was 
already  on  the  point  of  adjourning;  and  this  gave  us 
another  reason  for  continuing  straight  on  to  Canada. 
But  though  we  did  not  find  it  convenient  to  go  there 
ourselves,  I  shall  venture  to  give  this  bit  of  advice  to 
Europeans  who  are  seeking  to  get  acquainted  with  Cath 
olic  Americans :  let  them  be  enrolled  as  members  of  the 
Summer  School.  They  will  thus  see  more  than  the 
mere  tourist  can  ever  see ;  and  the  formation  of  numer 
ous  friendships  will  give  them  an  opportunity  of  pen 
etrating  deep  into  the  actual  life  of  the  United  States.1 

1  Last   year's   session  —  the  twelfth  —  continued   from  July  6  to  September  4. 
The  address  of  the  School  is  Catholic  Summer  School,  Cliff  Haven  post-office,  N.  Y. 


60  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

By  way  of  a  substitute  for  the  Adirondacks,  we  were 
given  a  sight  of  the  White  Mountains ;  and  to  our  left 
at  some  distance  we  saw  the  Green  Mountains,  a  range 
which  the  other  route  would  have  put  close  upon  our 
right.  Picturesque  enough  these  mountains  certainly 
are,  but  with  no  visible  advantage  over  ours  at  home, 
Mount  Washington  itself  being  little  more  than  six 
thousand  feet  high.  To  see  real  mountains,  fit  to  be 
compared  with  our  Alps,  the  tourist  must  go  as  far 
west  as  the  Rockies,  two  thousand  miles  and  more 
from  New  York. 

During  our  long  day  on  the  cars  we  passed  through 
scenery  that  for  the  most  part  looked  like  a  duplicate 
of  the  country  between  New  York  and  Boston ;  culti 
vation  was  scarcely  more  noticeable,  and  but  for  the 
various  country-seats  and  the  occasional  towns  nearly 
the  whole  territory  seemed  to  be  intended  for  the  enter 
tainment  of  travellers.  The  hills,  however,  had  grown 
into  mountains,  the  parks  had  become  forests,  and  the 
ponds  widened  out  into  immense  lakes.  It  recalled 
the  scenery  between  Zurich  and  Chur,  though  there 
was  anything  but  a  resemblance  in  names.  Here  we 
had  such  picturesque  titles  as  Lake  Winnipesaukee 
(Smile  of  the  Great  Spirit),  which  for  forty  leagues 
bathes  with  its  limpid  waters  the  lawns  of  handsome 
villas;  and  Lake  Memphremagog  (Beautiful  Waters), 
which  stretches  amid  rocks  and  wooded  hills  from 
Vermont  to  Quebec,  and  ranks  as  one  of  the  most 
popular  watering-places  in  America.  I  smiled  quietly 
as  I  thought  how  many  Yankees  and  Canadians  who 
had  never  even  heard  of  Leman  would  be  stirred  with 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  61 

pity  for  the  ignorance  of  people  to  whom  the  name  of 
Memphremagog  was  unknown. 

Nightfalls  as  we  cross  the  frontier;  but  still  we  are 
able  to  discern  the  signs  of  our  entrance  into  Canada,— 
a  railroad  station  with  a  French  name,  the  arrival  of  new 
passengers  speaking  our  own  tongue,  a  newsboy  with 
an  evening  paper  which  turns  out  to  be  "La  Patrie,"  and 
which  in  immense  headlines  speaks  of  "Les  Deux  Na 
tions  Amies ,  la  France  et  ly  Angleterre" 


62  IN   THE    LAND    OF 


CHAPTER  IV 

CANADIAN  IDEAS  AND    VIEWS 

A  Visit  to  Canada. —  Montreal. — A  Sunday  with  the  Indians. — 
Analysis  of  Canadian  Patriotism. —  Iroquois  versus  Sulpician. 
—  Ottawa. —  The  Canadian  Parliament. —  Colonization. — 
The  Apostolic  Delegate. —  The  University. —  The  St.  Law 
rence. — The  Thousand  Islands. —  Ontario. — The  Poem  of 
America. 

TN  obedience  to  the  principle  of  making  necessary 
sacrifices,  and  consoled  by  the  prospect  of  a  future 
tour,  we  shall  resign  ourselves  to  seeing  in  Canada  neither 
the  gorges  of  the  Saguenay  nor  the  old  French  city  of 
Quebec,  and  to  missing  the  beauties  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  As  our  share  of  the  picturesque,  we  shall 
be  satisfied  with  that  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence  which 
flows  by  the  Thousand  Islands,  and  leads  to  Lake 
Ontario  and  Niagara.  We  shall  gain  our  information 
in  Montreal,  at  once  the  largest  city  of  French  Canada 
and  of  the  entire  Dominion,  and  in  Ottawa,  which  is 
the  political  capital.  In  spite  of  ourselves,  we  shall 
have  to  forego  Toronto,  the  principal  English  city.  In 
giving  the  preference  to  Montreal,  the  desire  of  seeing 
some  old  friends  there  will  count  for  much.  "  The 
heart  has  its  reasons,  which  reason" — can  sometimes 
understand.  The  best  way  to  become  acquainted  with 
a  strange  country  is  to  enter  it  by  a  friendly  door, 
which  will  open  others,  and  these  in  turn  will  give 
access  to  a  whole  series.  One  observes,  listens,  asks 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  63 

questions,  and  in  a  short  time  reaps  the  benefits  of 
experience  acquired  slowly  by  natives  and  immigrants. 
The  personal  part  consists  in  selecting  the  witness, 
weighing  and  comparing  the  testimony  presented,  and 
as  far  as  possible  verifying  it  by  observation. 

No  laborious  research  is  needed  to  discover  the 
charms  of  Montreal.  Stretching  gracefully  between 
wooded  hills  and  the  broad  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence ; 
interesting  as  a  European  city,  which  indeed  it  seems 
to  be,  with  its  history  of  nearly  three  hundred  years; 
rich,  spacious,  bustling,  with  the  conveniences  of  a  New 
World  city,  which  it  certainly  is,  Montreal,  the  most 
important  centre  of  French  Canada  and  of  the  entire 
Dominion,  is  one  of  the  most  agreeable  places  in 
America.  It  has  a  delightful  bracing  climate,  dry  all 
the  year  round  except  during  the  few  weeks  of  Spring 
when  the  snows  are  thawing.  At  the  time  of  our  visit, 
in  early  September,  the  sky  was  as  blue  as  that  of 
Tuscany,  and  its  charm  was  heightened  by  our  having 
recently  come  from  the  humid  and  somewhat  depress 
ing  atmosphere  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  But  everybody 
assured  us  that  the  Winter  here  is  the  healthiest  and 
most  picturesque  of  all  the  seasons,  and  that  especially 
between  November  and  the  month  of  April  is  life 
pleasant  in  Montreal. 

One  of  our  first  visits  was  to  Mount  Royal,  which 
has  given  its  name  to  the  town.  It  is  one  of  the  best 
situated  parks  in  the  world,  and  the  view  from  its  ter 
races  embraces  the  city,  encircled  by  the  azure  St. 
Lawrence  and,  beyond,  the  vast  plains  that  stretch 
away  toward  the  Adirondacks  and  the  Green  Moun- 


64  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

tains.  Leaving  the  park  by  the  road,  bordered  with 
fine  trees,  which  leads  to  the  cemetery,  we  get  a  view 
of  the  Ottawa  valley,  Lake  St.  Louis,  and  the  island 
over  which  Montreal  is  still  expanding.  But  it  is  the 
cemetery  itself,  especially  if  it  should  happen  that  this 
is  the  first  one  seen  in  America,  that  arrests  attention. 
There  is  no  sadness  here;  the  graves  form  little  flower- 
plots,  and  the  winding  roads  are  frequented  by  car 
riages  and  pedestrians  as  if  the  place  were  a  public 
garden.  And,  after  all,  is  not  this  the  part  of  wisdom  ? 
Why  see  in  death,  instead  of  a  simple  phase  of  our 
destiny,  an  irremediable  catastrophe  ? 

Montreal  is  more  attractive  in  panorama  than  in 
detail ;  so  I  shall  spare  my  readers  further  description, 
notwithstanding  that  devotion  to  duty  led  me  to  visit 
the  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  the  Seminary  and  the 
Preparatory  Seminary,  the  two  Universities,  Laval  and 
Mac  Gill,  French  and  English  respectively,  and  many 
other  monuments,  churches,  and  institutions. 

Of  course  the  friends  who  received  me  invited  me 
to  the  customary  experience  of  shooting  the  Rapids  of 
Lachine,  the  shortest  (they  are  only  three  miles  long) 
but  also  the  roughest  to  be  found  in  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Morning  and  evening,  the  railroad  and  trolley-cars 
carry  to  the  town  of  Lachine  tourists  in  quest  of  new 
sensations.  They  take  the  steamer  which  starts  regu 
larly  from  Toronto,  and  face  their  little  danger.  Soon 
the  vessel  approaches  the  Rapids ;  it  has  to  make  a 
descent  of  forty-five  feet  amid  rocks  level  with  the  sur 
face  of  the  water ;  fortunately,  the  descent  is  made  in 
several  falls,  but  the  passage  from  one  to  the  other  is 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  65 

exciting  enough.  The  repeated  plunges  through  the 
foaming  waters  and  over  the  reefs  must  in  old  days 
have  given  rise  to  serious  disquietude,  notwithstanding 
the  skill  of  the  Indian  pilots.  But  for  many  years  no 
accidents  have  occurred ;  and  there  is  just  a  touch  of 
absurdity  in  this  gratuitous  experience  undertaken  in 
the  hope  that  there  will  be  none.  But  I  am  far  from 
regretting  the  hours  I  devoted  to  this  expedition. 
Nothing  could  be  more  majestic  than  the  sunset  with 
which  it  terminated.  On  one  side,  the  St.  Lawrence 
looked  like  a  lake  of  fire;  on  the  other,  Montreal 
showed  in  silhouette  the  vessels  in  the  port,  the  frame 
of  the  great  bridge,  and  the  innumerable  belfries  from 
which  the  Angelus  was  ringing  out.  The  twilight  was 
full  of  beauty,  sweetness,  and  religious  peace.  It  was 
then  that  I  began  to  love  Canada.  Every  country  has 
a  soul ;  and  until  we  feel  it  palpitate  in  ourselves,  we 
do  not  understand  it.  The  soul  of  Canada,  to  which 
I  feared  I  might  remain  obdurate,  entered  into  mine 
that  evening.  Canada  is  the  land  of  immense  lakes, 
virgin  forests,  and  endless  snows.  Its  river  is  the  king 
of  rivers.  Its  expanses  are  interminable.  It  touches 
the  inert  pole  and  exuberant  America;  its  western 
ocean  laps  Asia.  To  the  congested  worlds  it  offers 
freely  its  new  lands;  and  it  owns  the  future.  It  owns 
the  future,  yet  it  guards,  like  a  good  genius,  the  tradi 
tional  treasure  of  an  older  country  called  France.  Nay, 
with  its  remains  of  primitive  races,  it  awakens  dreams 
of  the  dim  ages  that  have  no  history.  To  the  soul  and 
to  the  eye,  Canada  is  the  country  of  vast  horizons. 


66  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

The  traveller  through  the  frozen  North,  the  forests 
of  the  East,  the  Central  regions,  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains  will  still  meet  with  considerable  numbers 
of  Esquimaux,  or  of  Algonquins,  faithful  to  their 
ancient  ways  of  living.  To-day  Canada  contains  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  Indians  —  to  give  them  the 
incorrect  name  which  usage  imposes.  If  the  greater 
number  of  these  are  still  in  a  state  of  savagery,  certain 
groups,  well  protected  by  public  authority,  are  little  by 
little  adopting  civilized  habits.  Not  far  from  Mon 
treal,  in  a  village  called  Caughnawaga,  there  is  an 
important  reservation  of  Iroquois  Indians.  When  I 
expressed  a  desire  to  pay  this  village  a  visit,  my  friends 
concurred  all  the  more  readily  because  they  themselves 
had  never  been  there.  We  take  the  nine  o'clock  train 
on  a  Sunday  morning,  and  quitting  it  toward  ten,  at  a 
mere  stopping-place,  we  start  to  look  for  our  savages. 
An  indifferent  road  passing  between  fields  of  vegetables 
leads  us  to  a  commonplace  village,  where  the  houses, 
separated  from  one  another  by  little  gardens,  remind 
one  of  the  ugliest  outskirts  of  Paris.  Is  this  Caugh 
nawaga,  or  is  it  Bas-Meudon  ?  Every  door  is  closed. 
The  few  children  who  appear  here  and  there  make  off 
at  our  approach.  It  occurs  to  us  that  it  is  the  hour  of 
worship,  and  we  think  of  inquiring  for  the  church. 
But  to  whom  shall  we  apply,  and  in  what  tongue  P 
Firmly  resolved  (for  a  very  good  reason)  not  to 
speak  a  word  of  Iroquois,  we  address  in  French  the 
first  person  we  meet,  who  replies  in  English  that  she 
does  not  understand  us.  Mutual  explanations  end  in 
our  going  to  mass.  The  priest  is  at  the  Preface.  We 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  67 

endeavor,  as  quietly  as  possible,  to  find  places,  and  I 
am  soon  seated  on  a  bench  between  two  women  absorbed 
in  deep  reflection.  They  are  dressed  like  peasants  in 
their  Sunday  clothes ;  but  their  faces  seem  to  be  quite 
of  the  Iroquois  type.  Pleased  with  this  observation, 
I  suppress  my  curiosity  and  join  in  the  common 
prayers.  Once  again,  as  a  Catholic,  I  feel  the  pro 
found  joy  of  finding  my  religion  everywhere,  the  same 
here  as  in  Paris,  in  Cologne,  in  Rome,  the  same  as  it 
revives  in  England  and  Norway,  as  it  subsists  in  Pal 
estine  which  saw  its  birth,  and  in  Australia  where  it 
expands  with  the  progress  of  the  world.  And  when 
the  half-savage  congregation  around  me  raises  its  voice 
in  the  liturgical  chants,  what  matters  it  if  the  words  are 
unknown  and  harsh  in  sound?  I  know  that  they 
express  a  thought  which  is  also  mine,  and  that  these 
accents  of  praise  and  love  are  addressed  to  the  same 
God  whom  1  adore.  And  I  am  pleased  that  they  sing 
in  their  incomprehensible  tongue ;  our  communion  of 
prayer  is  all  the  higher  and  more  ideal. 

We  came  out  from  the  High  Mass  mingling  with 
the  crowd,  It  seems  a  large  one,  yet  somebody  tells 
us  that  half  the  parish  has  gone  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
Ste.  Anne  de  Bellevue.  The  costumes  are  the  same 
as  among  ourselves,  with  colors  more  gaudy  and  dis 
cordant;  but  the  physiognomies  do  not  disappoint  our 
expectations.  A  mixture  of  races  is  everywhere  per 
ceptible,  so  that  nowhere  is  any  face  quite  European, 
and  several  exhibit  the  pure  type  of  the  Indian  race, — 
coarse  black  hair,  prominent  noses  and  cheek-bones, 
thin  lips,  skin  of  a  coppery  bronze  tinged  with  green, 


68  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

and  above  all  eyes  deep  sunken  under  the  narrow  fore 
head,  with  enormous  pupils  gleaming  like  carbuncles. 
It  is  by  the  expression  of  the  eyes  that  I  should  classify 
people.  As  long  as  these  particular  men  retain  their 
present  expression,  so  long  will  they  easily  be  differen 
tiated  from  us.  Amid  the  rather  ugly  crowd  I  notice 
one  young  girl  of  striking  beauty;  a  graceful  figure,  a 
fresh,  gentle  face,  with  eyes  modestly  downcast.  Sud 
denly  she  looks  at  me,  and  instantly  I  see  in  her  the 
ferocious  Indian.  How  many  more  centuries  of 
Christianity  will  be  required  to  tame  these  terrible 
natures  ?  and  will  the  people  last  long  enough  to  be 
absorbed  by  us  ?  Thousands  and  thousands  of  years 
spent  in  a  life  of  wandering  through  the  virgin  forest 
has  graven  an  indelible  stamp  of  savagery  in  the  soul 
and  in  every  fibre  of  the  body. 

Yet  I  fain  would  hope  that  my  judgment  is  too 
severe.  After  the  meal,  which  we  take  with  the  mis 
sionary,  adding  our  provisions  to  his  lunch,  we  visit 
some  families  with  him.  They  receive  us  amiably  and 
answer  us  with  politeness;  they  show  us  their  poor 
furniture,  framed  chromos,  and  some  manufactured 
articles  for  sale;  and  they  permit  us  to  approach  the 
children.  But  this  role  of  Paul  Pry  is  painful  and 
awkward;  I  fear  to  be  indiscreet — I  see  the  wild  eyes 
again ! 

Perceiving  in  the  street  a  girl  of  about  ten  years 
leading  her  little  brother  by  the  hand,  I  leave  my 
party  in  order  to  overtake  them.  They  show  no 
fright  when  I  accost  them  ;  we  exchange  a  few  words 
in  English,  and  some  smiles.  The  situation  is  clearing. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  69 

It  will  soon  become  excellent,  judging  by  the 
advances  made  to  me  by  a  great  Iroquois  fellow  who 
appears  in  company  with  three  young  Americans. 
"Good  morning,  my  learned  confrere!"  he  exclaims, 
as  he  unceremoniously  offers  his  hand.  I  take  it,  and 
return  him  his  strange  salutation.  "Me,  Big  John; 
these  learned  confreres,  Americans.  And  you?"  In 
reply,  I  announce  myself  as  a  Frenchman  from  Paris, 
which  is  not  without  its  effect.  The  young  men 
who  have  doubtless  exhausted  the  conversational  re 
sources  of  the  big  Iroquois,  relinquish  him  entirely  to 
me.  "  7  #  Fran$ais?  Me  speak  Fran<;ais"  he  begins 
in  a  breath ;  and,  in  the  most  astonishing  jumble  of 
French  and  English,  he  relates  his  history.  In  the 
first  place,  he  has  seen  the  Queen  of  England.  "  It 
is  true,  Big  John  pas  blaguer"  The  Queen  has  given 
him  her  portrait  with  her  royal  autograph.  He  has 
been  a  pilot  on  the  Rapids.  He  has  been  taken  to 
England, —  why,  or  under  what  circumstances,  I  can 
not  very  well  make  out.  As  far  as  I  can  learn,  it  was 
when  he  was  young,  and  as  a  champion  athlete.  He 
was  brought  to  Windsor;  and  his  replies  to  two  or 
three  questions  that  I  put  on  the  subject  show  that  it 
is  a  fact :  "  Big  John  pas  blaguer"  The  Queen  has 
touched  his  hand;  yes,  this  very  hand!  Out,  the 
Queen !  So  when  him  come  back,  him  modeste^  but 
him  make  great  talks  to  the  other  Iroquois.  It  is  a 
pity  his  wife  is  absent,  nursing  a  sick  daughter,  for  he 
would  conduct  his  learned  confreres  to  his  house.  He 
has  been  offered  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  the 
photograph  of  the  Queen,  but  he  would  not  sell  it.  It 


70  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

will  be  for  his  children  when  he  is  in  Paradise, — "  for 
if  Big  John  does  n't  go  to  Paradise,  there  will  be 
a  good  many  others  not  go  either;  nest-ce  pas,  mon 
savant  confrere?"  This  is  too  much  for  my  gravity. 
Where  did  he  pick  up  this  fantastic  title?  In  what 
discourse,  or  at  the  door  of  what  assembly,  has  he 
caught  it  on  the  wing,  and  fixed  it  in  his  head  as  the 
distinctive  designation  for  well-bred  people  ?  Big  John 
wrongly  interprets  my  laugh  as  a  manifestation  of 
scepticism.  "  Viens  to  home.  Show  you  Queen's 
picture."  Nothing  could  please  me  better;  so  I  accept 
the  offer,  protesting  the  while  my  complete  confidence 
in  his  words.  Only,  I  should  like  to  see  other  things 
as  well  as  the  portrait.  "  You  did  not  go  to  see  the 
Queen  in  that  costume?"  <cOf  course,  non."  "You 
had  your  Iroquois  dress?"  "I  had."  "You  have 
it  still?"  "J'ai."  "You  will  let  me  see  it?"  "Yes, 
mon  savant  confrere"  "You  will  put  it  on  for  me?" 
"Si  plaisir  a  toi."  Meanwhile  we  reach  Big  John's 
house.  It  is  the  worst  kept  one  that  I  had  seen  in 
the  village;  but  let  us  not  be  severe — his  wife  is 
absent.  Big  John  rushes  off  to  look  for  the  portrait; 
he  does  not  find  it.  He  rummages  everywhere  and 
upsets  everything,  but  without  success.  He  is  pained 
by  this  discomfiture.  "  Big  John  no  blaguer"  he  re 
peats  over  and  over;  and  he  can  scarcely  repress  his 
tears.  I  do  my  best  to  console  him,  telling  him  I  do 
not  doubt  his  word,  that  he  is  no  "blower,"  that  he 
really  has  the  Queen's  portrait,  but  that  I  have  seen 
many  of  them  before,  and  that  I  shall  have  no  regrets 
if  he  will  show  me  his  fine  costume.  With  one  bound 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  71 

he  reaches  the  loft,  and  in  about  two  minutes  down  he 
comes  with  his  plumed  cap  and  close-fitting  jacket 
glittering  with  spangles  and  all  sorts  of  ornaments. 
He  draws  himself  up  proudly.  His  look,  the  move 
ment  of  his  lips,  everything,  mark  the  distance  between 
us.  I  feel  that  I  am  a  very  small  boy,  and  perceive 
that  now  is  not  the  moment  for  me,  a  poor  "  pale 
face,"  to  put  myself  on  a  level  with  him.  Vainly  does 
John  resume  his  coat  and  straw  hat.  The  current  of 
sympathy  is  broken  ;  we  take  leave  of  each  other  very 
civilly,  but  the  friendship  of  a  moment  ago  is  gone. 

I  reenter  the  church  as  vespers  begin.  By  virtue 
of  a  special  privilege  to  the  missions  of  Caughnawaga, 
St.  Regis,  Oka,  and  Oneida,1  the  services  are  sung  in 
Iroquois ;  but  this  is  a  privilege  which  our  ears  scarcely 
appreciate.  I  have  never  heard  anything  so  harsh  and 
monotonous  as  this  poor  dialect;  it  seems  to  possess 
only  about  a  dozen  sounds,  of  which  three-fourths  are 
gutturals  and  the  rest  nasals.  After  vespers  we  inspect 
the  church.  It  is  large,  handsome,  and  well  kept;  one 
might  fancy  one's  self,  as  I  told  the  missionary,  in  the 
chief  parish  of  some  French  canton.  He  replies  that 
it  was,  in  fact,  built  by  the  French  in  the  seventeenth 
century  ;  and  the  main  altar,  the  fine  though  rather 
heavy  carvings  of  which  attract  our  notice,  was  sent 
from  Paris  in  the  name  of  Louis  XIV.  We  hardly 
expected  to  find  here  souvenirs  of  "le  grand  roi."  A 
souvenir  of  another  kind,  but  equally  interesting,  is 
shown  to  us  in  the  sacristy;  it  is  the  symbolic  girdle 
sent  to  the  Iroquois  while  yet  pagans,  by  a  converted 

1  The  Oneida  mission  is  in  Wisconsin  ;   the  others  are  in  Canada. 


72  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

tribe,  as  at  once  a  sign  of  alliance  and  an  exhortation 
to  embrace  Christianity ;  a  cross  represents  the  true 
doctrine,  while  outlandish  zigzag  designs  signify  the 
ruses  of  the  Devil  which  are  to  be  evaded. 

At  length,  when  we  were  about  to  take  our  leave, 
the  missionary  showed  us  a  portrait  of  M.  and  Mme. 
Botrel,  who  came  to  Canada  this  year;  and,  having 
announced  in  advance  their  visit  to  Caughnawaga, 
were  received  there  with  great  pomp.  Delighted  with 
their  fine  voices,  the  Iroquois  gave  them  expressive 
names  which  are  written  at  the  bottom  of  the  photo 
graph  :  "A u  cher  cure  de  Caughnawaga,  et  a  ses  braves 
et  accueillants  paroissiens.  Souvenir  de  Rohatico  et  de 
Ouikourico"1  To  this  dedication  the  Breton  poet 
has  added:  "  Vive  Dieu,  Vive  la  patrie"  and  the  fol 
lowing  quatrain,  which  is  hardly  equal  to  his  best 
ballads : 

<(Bien  souvent  avec  ma  tbourgeoisej 
Je  parlerai  du  Canada 
Et  de  la  Reserve  Iroquohe 
Qui  m' attend  a  CaugbnawagdS* 

The  day  advances.  We  cross  the  wide  St.  Law 
rence  in  a  ferryboat,  and  an  electric  car  brings  us  back 
to  Montreal.  I  am  behind  time  as  I  reach  the  Sul- 
picians  of  Notre  Dame,  with  whom  I  am  to  dine,  but 
their  welcome  is  none  the  less  kindly.  Our  impressions 
of  Caughnawaga  are  listened  to  with  interest,  and  sev 
eral  elderly  priests  tell  me  of  the  times  they  passed 
among  the  Iroquois,  when  these  people  were  entirely 
savage.  My  meeting  with  Big  John  drew  from  an 

1  The  first  of  these  names  signifies  u  the  Gentle,"  the  other,   u  the  Fine  Singer." 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  73 

old  priest  the  following  reminiscence:  " About  1860, 
shortly  after  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Can 
ada,  as  I  reached  a  camp  not  far  from  Toronto,  one  of 
the  Indian  chiefs  started  to  run  in  front  of  me,  shout 
ing  with  frantic  gesticulations,  c  Rakeni,  Queen,  son 
garden  raksatio,  akwa  raksatio,'  that  is,  c  Father,  the 
Queen's  son  is  a  fine  fellow,  a  very  fine  fellow/  The 
prince  had  shaken  hands  with  this  worthy  savage." 
What  impressed  me  most  in  the  missionary's  story 
was  that  it  strengthened  my  conviction  of  the  Indian's 
profound  pride  of  race.  On  another  occasion  he  saw 
one,  who  was  a  Catholic,  draw  himself  up  haughtily 
on  being  reprimanded  somewhat  sharply,  and  exclaim, 
in  a  tone  of  supreme  pride,  "  You  forget  that  I  am  an 
Indian!"  But,  indeed,  where  are  the  people  who  do 
not  think  themselves  the  first  in  the  world?  I  have 
not  found  them  among  the  Arabs  nor  the  Laplanders; 
not  in  Italy  nor  Germany;  not  in  Norway  nor  Spain; 
France  nor  England;  and  I  have  not  found  them  in 
America. 

Interesting  as  they  seem  to  us,  the  Iroquois  do  not 
hold  quite  the  first  place  in  Canada.  To  whom  does 
it  belong,  —  the  French  element,  or  the  English?  To 
be  frank,  there  is  no  room  for  the  question  at  all,  if  we 
regard  the  whole  of  Canada. 

Of  the  nine  provinces  which  compose  the  Dominion 
(counting  as  one  the  territories  of  the  Northwest),  Que 
bec  alone  has  a  majority  of  French;  and  of  the  total 
population  of  the  country,  which  is  about  six  million, 
not  more  than  a  third  part  speaks  French.  The  fecun- 


74  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

dity  of  which  our  brothers  beyond  the  sea  are  justly 
so  proud  fails  to  counterbalance  the  Irish,  English,  and 
American  immigration.  The  city  of  Quebec  and  nearly 
all  Lower  Canada  are  securely  French ;  but  in  Mon 
treal  the  preponderance  is  now  very  slight,  and  in 
proportion  as  one  goes  west  the  country  becomes  more 
and  more  English.  Even  in  the  Province  of  Quebec, 
the  French  do  not  in  every  way  enjoy  an  influence 
corresponding  to  their  numerical  superiority.  While, 
for  example,  they  occupy  the  liberal  professions,  they 
are  not,  generally  speaking,  at  the  head  of  the  great 
enterprises,  especially  those  requiring  large  capital. 
French  is  not  understood  by  everybody;  the  English 
will  not  learn  it, —  their  own  language  is  spoken  every 
where,  at  least  in  all  the  large  towns.  The  old  pastor 
of  this  parish — who,  by  way  of  an  exception,  does 
not  understand  it  —  admits  that  this  is  a  great  hin 
drance  in  his  ministry,  and  is  very  glad  that  his  assistants 
are  not  in  the  same  fix  as  himself.  Nearly  all  the 
French  children  speak  English  fluently.  Does  this 
mean  that  French  is  threatened  with  extinction?  No; 
but,  what  is  very  remarkable,  it  holds  its  ground  by  a 
conscious  effort.  The  French  race  in  Canada  wishes 
to  speak  French.  Nothing  indicates  that  it  is  chang 
ing  its  mind. 

This  fidelity  to  the  French  language  does  not  affect 
the  loyalty  of  the  Canadian  to  the  British  crown.  Num 
bers,  time,  necessity,  and,  let  us  add,  the  liberal  rule 
enjoyed  by  England's  colonies,  have  accomplished  their 
work.  And  if,  at  a  day  which  is  still  distant,  the  Cana 
dians  are  to  break  the  ties  that  bind  them  to  that 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  75 

country,  they  will  not  dream  of  returning  to  us.  In 
such  a  contingency  some  would,  it  seems,  favor  union 
with  the  United  States,  which  country  would  not  decline 
the  proposal;  but  an  immense  majority,  practically  all, 
would  favor  independence.  We,  English  and  French, 
are  in  their  eyes  "two  friendly  nations/'  and  as  I  had 
occasion  to  note  in  the  toasts,  speeches,  and  newspaper 
articles  called  forth  by  the  reunion  at  Montreal,  during 
my  stay  there,  of  the  representatives  of  our  two  navies. 
Nowhere,  indeed,  as  a  prominent  journal1  stated,  did 
the  Anglo-French  understanding  give  rise  to  so  much 
satisfaction  as  on  this  free  soil  of  Canada,  where  France 
has  left  such  profound  souvenirs,  and  England  counts 
so  many  loyal  subjects.  But  the  Canadians  do  not 
identify  their  country  either  with  France,  though  they 
love  her  as  a  mother,  or  with  Great  Britain,  though 
they  respect  her  as  a  queen.  Before  both,  as  is  quite 
natural,  they  place  their  own  country.  In  Canada, 
patriotism  is  Canadian.  On  analysis,  this  sentiment 
will  be  found  to  be,  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  very 
complex.  The  inhabitants  of  English  blood  appear 
to  be  about  equally  devoted  to  Canada  in  general  and 
to  their  own  Province  in  particular;  especially  is  this 
true  in  Ontario,  which  already  possesses  some  tradi 
tions  of  its  own.  There  is,  beside,  no  wavering  in 
their  loyalty  to  England.  As  to  the  French  Cana 
dians  of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  —  to  us  the  most 
interesting  of  all,  —  there  is  no  doubt  that  for  them 
their  country  is  their  own  Province,  with  its  fidelity 
to  their  language,  their  religion,  and  their  traditions. 

1 "  La  Patrie  "  of  Montreal,  September  9,  1903. 


76  IN    THE   LAND    OF 

Around  this  sentiment,  the  deepest  of  all,  are  grouped 
three  others  which  neither  resemble  it  nor  each  other. 
From  motives  of  interest,  certainly,  and  through  love 
of  independence,  our  Canadians  value  their  federation 
with  the  other  Provinces ;  and  it  pleases  them  to  find 
Canada  plays  the  part  of  a  nation.  Duty  and  reason 
lead  them  to  acknowledge  England  as  a  suzerain,  to-day 
beneficent.  A  sense  of  loyalty,  pride  of  race,  poetry, 
the  more  or  less  conscious  persistence  of  a  thousand 
subtle,  generous,  and  ennobling  influences,  cause  them 
to  cherish  an  ideal  devotion  to  France;  to  the  France 
of  yesterday,  of  which  they  consider  themselves,  not 
without  grounds,  the  heirs  no  less  than  we;  to  the 
France  of  to-day,  which  astonishes,  perplexes,  and 
frightens  them,  yet  which,  even  to  them,  is  still  France. 
It  is,  so  to  speak,  a  case  of  worthy  and  plain  country 
folk,  who  follow  with  interest  the  doings  of  their 
brilliant  Parisian  cousins,  who  have  gone  somewhat 
astray,  but  still  belong  to  the  same  family. 

The  conviction  that  Canada  is,  and  tends  more  and 
more  to  become,  a  distinct  country,  confirms  my  pur 
pose  of  visiting  its  political  capital.  If  sentiment  pre 
vailed  Quebec  would  win;  but  I  consider  that  Ottawa, 
which,  moreover,  is  less  known  to  my  compatriots, 
promises  me  more  information.  Beside,  it  lies  on  my 
way  to  Niagara  and  the  central  cities  of  the  United 
States. 

Three  or  four  hours  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  rail 
way  will  bring  me  straight  from  Montreal  to  Ottawa. 
But  everybody  advises  me  to  make  a  halt  half-way,  at 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  77 

Oka,  a  very  picturesque  station  of  the  Sulpicians  and 
Iroquois,  on  the  Lake  of  the  Two  Mountains.  So,  in 
company  with  a  professor  from  the  Preparatory  Semi 
nary,  I  take  the  steamer  at  Lachine,  above  the  Rapids, 
which  no  vessel  can  ascend.1  On  a  superb  morning 
we  traverse  Lake  St.  Louis,  which  is  but  an  expansion 
of  the  river;  and  on  reaching  the  point  where  the 
Ottawa  enters,  we  turn  into  that  river.  It  soon  brings 
us  to  the  Lake  of  the  Two  Mountains,  which  this 
river  almost  entirely  feeds;  and  near  eleven  o'clock 
we  are  at  Oka.  Before  lunch,  we  take  a  turn  or  two 
in  the  woods  adjoining  the  village.  The  Sulpicians,  to 
whom  they  belong,  are  unable  to  derive  any  profit 
from  them,  owing  to  the  depredations  of  the  Iroquois. 
There  is  here,  I  am  told,  and  as  I  can  see  for  myself, 
a  virgin  forest  in  the  midst  of  civilization.  The  small 
value  of  wood  here  accounts  partly  for  the  indifference 
of  the  owners.  But  it  must  also  be  said  that  the 
Iroquois,  notwithstanding  their  clothing  and  their 
dwellings,  are  still  half  savage,  and  show  very  slight 
respect  for  the  indulgent  proprietors.  If  some  good 
Yankee  should  establish  himself  here,  they  would  be 
obliged  to  change  their  ways  very  quickly.  Just  now 
their  ambition  seems  centred  upon  giving  trouble  to  the 
worthy  congregation.  Most  of  them  have  turned  Pro 
testant,  and  this  year  Saint  Sulpice  has  had  to  witness 
the  building  of  a  Protestant  church  on  ground  that 
belongs  to  the  society.  The  leader  was  formerly  a 
Catholic,  whom  the  priests  had  marked  for  his  intelli 
gence,  and  educated  in  the  Preparatory  Seminary.  His 

1  The  steamers  which  descend  the  Rapids  return  by  canal. 


78  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

case  deserves  notice  as  an  example  of  atavism.  To 
the  age  of  sixteen,  his  piety  and  application  had  given 
his  teachers  complete  satisfaction.  But  one  day,  as  he 
took  a  trip  from  Montreal  to  Caughnawaga,  he  caught 
sight  of  the  mountains  of  Oka  in  the  horizon;  and, 
seized  with  indescribable  agitation,  he  left  his  com 
panions,  climbed  a  high  tree,  and  there  remained  long 
in  contemplation  of  his  country.  Two  or  three  days 
after,  without  saying  a  word  to  anybody,  he  fled  to  his 
home,  drawn  by  the  insuperable  attraction  of  primitive 
life.  I  have  heard  Norwegians  say  that  they  never 
could  succeed  in  retaining  beyond  adolescence  the 
young  Laps  whom  they  had  provided  with  work,  and 
who  at  first  seemed  attached  to  a  manner  of  life  so 
preferable  in  every  respect  to  their  own. 

The  naughty  Iroquois  do  not  prevent  me  from  pass 
ing  a  delightful  hour  among  the  kind  Sulpicians.  Who 
ever  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  brought  up  in  one 
of  their  seminaries  is  always  received  by  them  as  a  child 
of  the  family.  After  the  meal,  we  drive  over  make 
shift  grassy  roads,  without  at  any  time  entirely  losing 
our  equilibrium,  to  within  a  short  distance  of  Calvary, 
one  of  the  two  mountains  from  which  the  lake  takes 
its  name.  As  the  trees  now  usurp  even  the  middle  of 
the  road,  we  climb  the  rest  of  the  way  on  foot,  saluting 
an  occasional  station  of  the  cross,  and  find  ourselves 
repaid  for  our  courage  by  the  view  from  the  top.  Be 
fore  us  stretches  an  endless  and  splendid  panorama  of 
mountains,  water,  and  forest ;  at  our  foot,  the  blue  lake; 
beyond,  graceful  wooded  hills ;  and  farther  still,  long 
reaches  of  rivers — the  St. Lawrence  and  several  branches 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  79 

of  the  Ottawa — now  in  view,  now  hidden  by  the  irregu 
larities  of  the  ground;  and  in  the  distance  the  dark 
wall  of  mountains,  so  far  away  that  one  cannot  say 
whether  they  are  in  Canada  or  belong  to  Vermont  or 
New  York. 

Having,  through  excess  of  prudence,  descended 
sooner  than  was  necessary,  I  take  the  opportunity  to 
visit  an  Iroquois  family,  who  are  friendly  toward  Sul- 
picians ;  and  there  is  just  time  enough  to  mitigate  the 
unfavorable  impression  of  the  race  that  I  was  taking 
away  with  me.  These  persons  showed  themselves 
most  affable.  There  was  no  time  for  extended  acquain 
tance  ;  but  we  exchanged  a  few  friendly  words,  and  when, 
at  the  moment  of  departure,  which  came  only  too  soon, 
I  embraced  a  frank  little  Iroquois  boy  of  five  or  six 
years,  after  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his  fore 
head,  there  was,  after  all,  some  little  enlargement  of 
the  sympathies.  At  least,  this  carried  one  out  of  the 
commonplace.  But  what  did  so  still  more,  happened 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  when  two  Sulpicians  in  shirt 
sleeves  rowed  me  across  the  lake.  And  —  shades  of 
M.  Olier  and  M.  Icard,  forgive  me!  —  I  must  say 
that  they  rowed  as  well  as  Oxford  men.  We  soon 
reach  the  little  flag-station,  consisting  of  a  cabin  over 
which  presides  a  gentleman  whom  I  should  call  a  gate 
keeper  if  there  were  any  gate.  As  the  train  comes,  our 
official  signals  with  a  little  flag,  the  engine  stops,  and 
in  two  hours  I  am  at  Ottawa. 

Sometimes  it  is  with  cities  as  with  chosen  leaders. 
When,  in  1858,  Ottawa  became  the  capital  of  the 


80  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Dominion,  nothing  recommended  this  city  to  the 
choice  of  the  Queen  except  the  necessity  of  putting  an 
end  to  the  rival  pretensions  of  Quebec,  Montreal, 
Kingston,  and  Toronto.  Its  population,  which  was 
then  ten  thousand,  touches  sixty  thousand  to-day  ;  and 
in  its  composition  it  faithfully  represents  the  general 
condition  of  the  country.  More  than  half  the  people 
speak  English,  and  belong  to  various  Protestant  sects, 
chiefly  the  Presbyterian,  the  Methodist,  and  the  Epis 
copalian.  All  the  French  Canadians  and  the  Irish  are 
Catholics, —  the  first  with  six  parishes,  the  latter  with 
three.  The  boundaries  of  these  parishes  in  some  cases 
coincide;  and  one  may  see  two  churches  close  to  each 
other,  serving  congregations  that  do  not  mingle,  as  St. 
Joseph  for  the  Irish,  and  the  Sacre  Coeur  for  the 
French.  The  Premier,  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  is  French, 
and  a  good  Catholic;  the  other  members  of  the  Gov 
ernment  are  nearly  all  English. 

Ottawa  gives  the  impression  of  an  improvised 
capital,  with  its  immense  streets,  half  bordered  by 
bare  lots,  with  its  great  parks,  planted  with  small  trees, 
and  its  brand-new  buildings  in  the  official  quarter. 
These  edifices  have  an  imposing  air,  from  the  elegant 
gravity  of  their  Gothic  style  and  the  warm  tone  of  their 
granite.  The  Parliament  House  especially,  and  the 
Library,  on  the  edge  of  a  terrace  which  commands  the 
river  and  a  distant  horizon  of  forests,  give  an  impres 
sion  of  happily  blended  richness,  strength,  and  beauty. 
The  only  error  —  a  strange  one  for  an  English  coun 
try —  has  been  to  build  on  too  small  a  scale,  and  not 
to  make  sufficient  allowance  for  future  growth.  No 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  81 

one  in  1860  expected  that  Canada  would  soon  have 
a  population  of  six  million.  How  will  things  be  a 
hundred  years  hence,  when  it  has  fifty  or  a  hundred 
million  ?  Humanity,  having  started  late  on  Amer 
ican  soil,  is  now  making  up  for  lost  time.  What  an 
astonishing  contrast  with  an  age  so  little  distant  from 
the  present !  This  struck  me  forcibly  when,  on  the 
terrace  at  Ottawa,  I  looked  at  a  pine  log  brought  from 
British  Columbia  which  measured  eight  feet  in  diame 
ter  by  three  hundred  feet  in  length.  As  one  could 
verify  by  the  rings  of  its  growth,  it  was  a  hundred  and 
eighty-three  years  old  when  Columbus  discovered 
America.  Here  is  the  slowness  and  calm  of  nature 
in  the  presence  of  our  progress  and  ferment. 

The  parliamentary  session  this  year  had  been  pro 
longed  beyond  measure,  and  had,  it  appeared,  been 
stormy.  Here  men  wax  hot  over  railroad  affairs  as  we 
do  over  the  question  of  anti-clericalism.  I  witnessed 
an  afternoon  session  of  the  House -of  Commons,  con 
ducted  by  one  of  the  clerks,  the  learned  M.  Gerin, 
and  by  M.  Bourassa,  a  member  from  Montreal.  Had 
it  been  a  morning  session,  I  should  have  seen  it  (if  M. 
Brisson  will  permit  me  to  mention  the  fact)  opened 
with  prayer.  From  the  austere  appearance  of  the  hall, 
and  the  custom  that  the  ministers  have  of  speaking 
from  their  places,  and  especially  from  the  language 
used,  one  might  believe  one's  self  in  London.  Either 
French  or  English  may  be  spoken,  and  the  reports 
are  drawn  up  in  both  languages ;  but  as  all  the 
French  members  know  English,  while  the  converse 
does  not  hold  true,  it  is  our  tongue  that  is  sacrificed. 


82  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

At  least,  I  did  not  hear  a  sound  of  it  during  the 
sitting. 

It  was  long,  and  seemed  longer  to  me.  The  de 
bate  was  on  electoral  geography ;  and  the  question  was 
whether  or  not  the  district  represented  by  the  Minister 
of  Customs  should  have  another  member.  The  doubt 
had  arisen  because,  perhaps  (the  Lord  forbid  that  I 
should  take  sides!),  the  commission  had  unduly  in 
creased  the  number  of  voters  by  including  the  Indians. 
The  arguments  on  either  side  made  no  impression 
upon  me;  but  they  had  the  strange  result  of  causing 
all  the  conservative  right  to  accept  the  amendment, 
and  the  entire  liberal  left  to  reject  it  in  agreement  with 
the  ministers.  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  who  during  all  the 
debate  had  been  working  as  calmly  as  if  he  were  in  his 
office,  raised  his  fine  head  for  an  instant  to  smile  at 
this  little  triumph,  and  then  resumed  his  writing.  The 
Province  of  Ontario,  therefore,  counts  henceforward 
ninety-three  representatives  instead  of  ninety-two. 
Nova  Scotia  counts  twenty,  New  Brunswick  nineteen, 
all  the  other  provinces  together  only  twenty-three ;  but 
the  proportions  will  change  before  long. 

From  the  Parliament  to  the  Library, —  which,  by 
the  way,  is  at  the  service  of  the  members,  as  in  Wash 
ington, —  there  are  but  a  few  steps.  Its  elegance  and 
convenience  are  perfect,  but  it  is  already  overcrowded 
with  books.  The  superintendent,  M.  Decelles,  did 
the  honors  as  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman ;  and  he  gave 
us  further  occasion  to  appreciate  his  fine  qualities,  some 
hours  later,  during  the  evening  that  we  spent  at  his 
home. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  83 

It  is  in  conversation  with  this  Canadian  that  I 
understand,  that  I  feel,  so  to  speak,  what  Canada  really 
is.  I  am  no  longer  surprised  that  its  sons  love  it 
passionately,  with  the  poetry  and  leisure  of  its  long 
Winters,  the  absorbing  and  fruitful  labors  of  its  brief 
Summers,  its  solid  comfort,  its  traditions,  and  its  integ 
rity.  In  the  country  districts  there  are  no  gendarmes , 
no  rural  wardens;  the  parish  priest  and  the  constable 
suffice  to  keep  order;  in  extraordinary  cases,  the  bailiff 
is  called  on.  According  to  M.  Decelles,  the  jailers 
alone  are  to  be  commiserated.  He  told  me  of  one 
whose  prison  is  distant  from  any  urban  centre,  and 
who  last  year  complained  that  notwithstanding  his 
extensive  territory  he  had  no  boarders.  "  Last  Win 
ter/'  he  said,  "at  least  I  had  one  to  play  cards  with." 
If  he  had  known  the  history  of  the  Madrilenes  and 
the  Mancanares,  he  would  have  asked  that  either  the 
prison  should  be  sold  or  a  criminal  bought. 

On  that  evening,  too,  with  M.  Decelles  and  some 
friends  of  his  who  were  my  hosts, —  Oblates,  professors 
at  the  University, —  we  broached  the  subject  of 
colonization.  To  appreciate  its  importance,  one  must 
remember  that  the  arable  part  of  Canada,  to  say  noth 
ing  of  its  frozen  plains  in  the  North,  is  as  large  as  all 
Europe  exclusive  of  Russia.  The  portion  cleared  by 
the  French  along  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  a 
few  miles  wide  by  four  hundred  and  fifty  long, 
represents  perhaps  a  tenth  of  the  whole  area.  Within 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  since  the  opening  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific,  which  parallels  the  Northern  Pacific, 
a  region  nearly  four  thousand  miles  long,  from  the 


84  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Pacific  coast,  has 
been  opened  to  colonists.  The  forest  lands  to  which 
alone,  up  to  1870,  the  settlers  had  turned  their  atten 
tion,  are  several  thousand  miles  in  extent,  and  still 
remain  almost  intact.  But  beyond,  that  is  to  say,  be 
tween  Lake  Superior  and  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
lies  a  very  fertile  plain  nearly  a  thousand  miles  across, 
which,  under  the  names  of  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan, 
Assiniboia,  and  Alberta,  offers  to  human  energy  facili 
ties  for  expansion  such  as,  probably,  are  to  be  met 
with  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  Young  colonists 
possessing  a  little  capital,  who  would  go  into  stock- 
breeding,  might  raise  as  many  cattle  as  they  pleased  on 
these  boundless  pastures.  Facts  are  adduced  to  prove 
that  with  four  or  five  thousand  dollars  to  begin  with,  a 
hundred  thousand  might  be  made  in  a  dozen  years. 
All  that  is  required  is  initiative,  courage,  and  the  power 
to  endure  cold.  Such  a  prospect  is  well  worth  a 
journey  thither,  which  is  better  than  to  enter  into 
engagements  from  a  distance,  that  one  may  after 
ward  regret.  If,  by  a  rare  exception,  conditions  on 
the  spot  should  prove  unsatisfactory,  one  will  have 
enjoyed  a  splendid  trip  for  his  trouble.  But  ill  success, 
we  repeat,  is  altogether  unlikely. 

Among  the  interesting  recollections  of  my  stay  in 
Ottawa  is  the  visit  which,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
Rector  of  the  University,  I  paid  to  Mgr.  Sbaretti, 
formerly  Secretary  of  Delegation  at  Washington,  and, 
after  the  Spanish-American  War,  for  some  time  Bishop 
of  Havana.  It  can  be  no  indiscretion  to  say  that  he 
seems  thoroughly  satisfied  with  the  actual  conditions 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  85 

of  the  Church  in  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
without  discussing  theories;  and  he  considers  these 
conditions  preferable  to  those  which  prevail  in  Euro 
pean  countries.  His  way  of  saying  "We  Americans" 
indicates  that  it  is  ten  years  since  he  first  crossed  the 
Atlantic.  Perhaps  the  return  to  Rome  of  personages 
who  have  resided  here  for  a  considerable  time  will 
result  in  a  broadening  of  views  and  a  spreading  of 
more  accurate  knowledge.  The  Church  is  Catholic, 
and  therefore  universal. 

But  could  I  speak  of  Ottawa  without  saying  some 
thing  of  the  University  which  gave  me  so  kindly  a 
welcome  ?  A  few  months  after  my  visit,  a  terrible  fire 
destroyed  this  institution,  which  had  already  attained 
a  high  degree  of  prosperity.  But  there  is  no  fear  for 
its  future,  thanks  to  Canadian  energy,  Catholic  gener 
osity,  and  the  zeal  of  the  Oblates,  who,  under  the 
present  Rector,  Father  Emery,  and  his  predecessor, 
Father  Fallen,  had  won  so  much  success  for  the  Uni 
versity  that  it  recovered  very  rapidly  from  the  disas 
trous  blow,  and  more  beautiful  buildings  have  already 
replaced  the  former  ones,  which,  having  been  built  as 
the  necessities  of  the  moment  called  for  more  accom 
modation,  were  not,  if  we  except  the  Museum,  notice 
able  for  elegance  or  harmony.  The  students  remained 
faithful  to  their  masters ;  for  they  could  not  find  any 
where  else  a  system  of  education  more  complete  or 
more  suited  to  modern  needs.  For  instance,  Ottawa 
University  is  not  obliged,  as  some  other  institutions 
are,  to  postpone  science  till  the  end  of  the  rhetoric 
course,  nor  to  employ  Latin  in  the  course  of  philosophy, 


86  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

not  alone  for  ecclesiastical  but  also  for  lay  students. 
If  it  is  earnestly  to  be  desired  that  our  Canadian  broth 
ers  give  more  attention  to  modern  culture,  without 
compromising  their  Catholicism,  it  is  to  this  flourishing 
young  University  that  we  must  look  for  the  realization 
of  this  hope.  The  universities  of  Laval  in  Montreal 
and  Quebec,  too,  may  strive  in  the  same  direction, 
with  all  the  more  reason  that  they  are  not  obliged  to 
give  their  courses  in  both  languages;  nor  have  they 
any  longer  to  struggle  for  material  resources,  as  their 
reputations  are  established. 

Who  has  not  dreamed  of  the  virgin  forest?  Who 
has  not,  in  imagination,  set  out  with  Indians  armed 
with  tomahawks  and  carrying  canoes?  Who  has  not 
fancied  himself  admiring  giant  trees,  the  climbing 
plants,  the  fantastic  flora  and  fauna?  Equatorial 
regions  present  such  a  spectacle.  But  the  North  is 
far  from  being  so  picturesque.  From  Ottawa  to  Pres- 
cott,  where  I  am  to  take  the  river  steamer,  I  pass 
by  railroad,  through  considerable  sections  of  forest, 
which  are  broken  here  and  there  by  cleared  settle 
ments.  I  do  not  envy  those  who  must  endure  this 
sort  of  thing  for  forty-eight  hours  on  their  way  to 
Lake  Superior.  The  Canadian  virgin  forest  is  one 
interminable  tangle  of  green  trees,  decayed  branches, 
rotting  trunks,  interrupted  from  time  to  time  by 
marshes,  or  bare  spaces  studded  with  rocks.  But 
when  seen  from  a  little  distance,  what  a  contrast! 
How  much  more  beautiful  it  looked  from  Calvary 
on  the  Two  Mountains,  softening  the  hard  outline 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  87 

of  the  hills,  and  filling  up  the  valleys  with  a  sea  of 
foliage!  How  much  more  beautiful  still  will  it  be 
presently,  with  its  shadows  thrown  on  the  deep  river! 

They  were  wise  counsellors  who  advised  me  to  go 
up  the  St.  Lawrence  as  far  as  the  Thousand  Islands, 
and  then  to  cross  Lake  Ontario.  To  them  I  owe 
my  initiation  into  the  poetry  of  America.  Certainly 
America  has  nothing  to  show  like  the  ruins  of  Egypt 
and  Greece,  the  legend-laden  banks  of  the  Rhine,  the 
manors  of  England,  the  palaces  of  Venice  or  Granada, 
the  museums  of  Florence  or  Rome.  But  Nature,  in 
her  own  magnificent  way,  has  compensated  for  the 
absence  of  the  antique  and  the  masterpieces  of  human 
art.  I  shall  not  speak  of  what  I  have  not  seen ;  so  I 
shall  say  nothing  about  the  frightful  deserts  of  Arizona, 
the  Colorado  mountains,  many  of  them  higher  than 
the  Alps,  the  geysers  of  the  Yellowstone  Park,  the 
mighty  trees  of  Mariposa,  through  some  of  which  a 
wagon-road  has  been  made,  nor  of  certain  parts  of 
California,  milder  than  the  Azore  Coast,  and  even 
richer  in  tropical  flowers  and  palms.  But  from  what 
I  have  seen  I  have  received  impressions  which,  in 
their  way,  yield  in  nothing  to  those  made  on  me  by 
Italy,  Switzerland,  Norway,  Scotland,  or  Algeria. 

Merely  to  see  the  St.  Lawrence  is  worth  the  trip 
across  the  Atlantic.  From  Prescott  to  its  majestic 
junction  with  the  ocean,  it  offers  a  delightful  sail,  with 
its  numerous  rapids  (we  have  already  said  something 
about  those  of  Lachine) ;  with  its  cities  of  Montreal 
and  Quebec,  one  gracefully  seated  and  the  other  boldly 
perched  on  its  banks ;  with  the  wild  gorges  of  the 


88  IN   THE   LAND   OF 

Saguenay,  and  the  great  Cape  Eternity.  In  the  por 
tion  which  we  ascend,  it  widens  out  frequently  into 
lakes;  its  waters  are  clear  and  pure  as  a  mountain 
stream;  its  banks,  blending  with  the  horizon,  are 
protected  by  endless  forests  against  man's  desecrating 
activity ;  or  if,  at  rare  intervals,  some  towns  appear, 
they  cast  on  the  green  waters  only  shadows  of  elegant 
villas,  tasteful  hotels,  and  magnificent  parks  after  the 
English  fashion.  Islands  innumerable  —  no,  they 
have  been  counted,  they  are  over  a  thousand  —  dispel 
monotony,  that  wicked  fairy  that  spoils  the  finest  gifts. 
These  islands  rise  in  every  direction,  unexpected,  diver 
sified,  big  and  little,  mere  rocks  surmounted  with  two 
or  three  straggling  pines,  or  plains  covered  with  coun 
try-seats.  Some  of  these  repose  along  the  very  edge 
of  the  river,  so  that  the  branches  of  the  trees  and  the 
stems  of  the  flowers  dip  into  the  water ;  others  perch 
on  some  peak  with  their  towers  rising  above  the  rocks, 
and  by  the  splendor  of  their  architecture  and  of  the 
surrounding  vegetation  recalling,  notwithstanding  the 
too  modern  names  of  their  occupants,  the  Lago  Mag- 
giore  and  the  islands  of  Borromeo. 

But  let  us  shun  reminiscences  and  comparisons. 
The  wonders  here  differ  altogether  from  those  of  our 
Old  World.  I  become  once  more  conscious  of  this 
fact  when  I  raise  my  eyes  from  the  paper  on  which 
my  impressions  are  being  recorded,  and  begin  to  think 
of  the  great  distances  over  which  our  vessel  pursues 
its  way.  The  waters  on  which  we  sail  belong  to  the 
mightiest  of  rivers,  after  the  Amazon.  The  lakes  that 
we  are  about  to  enter  are  as  so  many  seas.  And  for 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  89 

six  months  of  the  year  this  is  the  most  crowded  interior 
waterway  in  the  world.  For  the  other  six  months,  a 
polar  cold  ties  up  all  shipping,  and  lays  down  for 
sledges  an  ample  road  of  snow  and  ice.  It  was  but 
yesterday  that  these  regions  were  opened  to  civiliza 
tion,  and  here  to-day  are  cities  surpassing  in  population 
and  prosperity  most  of  the  old  cities  of  Europe ;  here 
are  accumulated  fortunes  that  to  us  appear  fabulous, 
whose  possessors,  when  they  turn  to  patronizing  art  or 
science,  spend  more  in  one  year  than  a  Medici  in  his 
entire  reign.  And  the  people  of  this  New  World  claim 
that  they  have  but  just  entered  on  the  path  of  their 
destiny.  Facing  Europe,  they  have  developed  an 
Atlantic  coast  which  in  commerce  and  industry  is 
overwhelming  us;  in  the  centre  of  their  continent 
they  are  producing  such  quantities  of  cereals  that  our 
frightened  farmers  are  begging  our  governments  to 
protect  them  against  this  crushing  competition.  A 
further  expansion  of  all  these  industrial  and  economic 
forces  is  announced.  A  new  hemisphere  enters  the 
human  struggle.  The  Pacific  islands  and  shores  noisily 
and  painfully  force  their  way  into  civilization.  A  world 
is  in  the  pangs  of  parturition.  Progress  pursues  her 
Western  march,  ready  to  dig  an  inter-ocean  canal  across 
an  isthmus.  Her  purpose  is,  it  would  seem,  to  leave 
us  Europeans  behind,  like  another  Orient,  as  she  has 
already  done  with  India,  Assyria,  Egypt,  Greece,  and 
the  Roman  Empire.  .  .  .  Such  dreams  arise  as  one 
passes  between  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  with 
Canada  on  one  side  and  the  United  States  on  the 
other,  before  entering  Lake  Ontario.  It  is  the  fasci- 


90  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

nation  of  Niagara  and  Lake  Michigan ;  it  is  the  wind 
which  blows  from  the  Rocky  Mountains,  after  having 
passed  over  the  greatest  of  seas,  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
with  its  secrets  so  long  impenetrable.  Here  all  is  too 
vast  for  the  vision  of  eye  or  mind.  Come  to  my  help, 
O  Sainte  Chapelle !  and  ye  peaceful  lines  of  the  hills 
of  Fiesole! 

It  looks  for  the  moment  as  if  Kingston  were  going 
to  bring  me  back  to  prose,  notwithstanding  what  I  know 
of  the  progress  its  colleges  have  made,  and  what  I  see 
of  its  fine  spires.  The  ugly  black  masses  of  its  high 
grain  elevators,  ready  to  pour  their  contents  into  ships, 
make  art  pay  dear  for  the  services  which  they  render 
to  agriculture.  But  soon  the  steamer  enters  Lake 
Ontario.  The  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  recede  and 
disappear,  and,  in  the  heart  of  a  continent,  we  are  on 
a  boundless  sea.  It  will  take  five  hours  of  fast  steam 
ing  to  reach  the  port  of  Charlotte,  near  Rochester,  in 
New  York  State,  and  almost  eight  hours  to  bring  us 
to  Toronto  on  the  Canadian  side.  The  sun  is  sinking 
below  the  horizon.  From  its  disappearing  disk  to  our 
boat  runs  a  gleaming  pathway  of  light,  as  on  the  real 
ocean.  In  the  west  the  sky  is  purple,  and  soon  it  will 
be  overflowing  with  gold,  richer  than  the  millionaires 
of  this  New  World,  and  more  assured  than  they  of  a 
to-morrow.  Now  the  night  is  here,  dark  and  mild, 
with  its  countless  silent  stars.  I  must  withdraw  alone 
to  think  and  pray;  companionless,  as  I  have  been  all 
this  day  of  blessed  solitude;  without  as  yet  sharing 
my  confidences  with  my  future  readers;  alone  with 
God  and  the  recollections  of  those  I  love. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  91 


CHAPTER  V 

AN    INVOLUNTARY    VISIT    TO    BISHOP 
MAC  QUAID 

Unforeseen  Itinerary. — A  Visit  to  Charlotte,  New  Tork. — An 
Unexpected  Call  upon  Bishop  Mac  ®)uaid. — Reassuring 
Welcome. — A  Model  Seminary. — A  Right  Reverend  Viti- 
culturist. — A  Tireless  Cicerone. —  Difficulties  with  Arch 
bishop  Ireland. — A  Visit  to  a  Grammar-School. —  Surprise 
of  a  European. 

'"T^OWARD  ten  o'clock  at  night,  fatigued,  I  quit 
the  deck;  and  when,  a  little  later,  we  touch  .at 
the  small  port  of  Charlotte,  I  am  asleep  in  my  cabin. 
Awakened  by  the  noise,  I  impatiently  await  our 
departure,  which  is  fixed  for  half-past  eleven ;  but  up 
to  midnight  nothing  stirs  —  at  least  not  the  steamer. 
In  compensation,  there  is  a  frightful  hubbub  on  the 
wharf  to  which  we  are  moored.  Through  the  porthole 
of  my  cabin  I  can  see  gangs  of  demons  emptying  bar- 
rowfuls  of  coal  into  our  hold.  I  take  up  a  book  and 
complete  my  schedule  for  Toronto.  Still  we  do  not 
start.  I  rise  in  order  to  read  more  comfortably,  and 
turn  to  the  pages  that  treat  of  the  West.  Then  I,  who 
think  myself  very  far  already,  make  the  interesting 
discovery  that  five-sixths  of  Canada  would  still  have 
to  be  traversed  before  reaching  the  Pacific.  We  are 
scarcely  yet  in  the  middle  of  the  Eastern  forest  region; 
there  still  remain  the  great  plains  of  the  Central  region, 
and  the  vast  Rocky  Mountain  region.  It  is  nigh  two 


92  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

o'clock  A.  M.  ;  I  begin  the  history  of  the  formation  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  and  their  geology  as  well. 

So  much  resignation  deserved  a  recompense.  The 
first  it  received  did  not  present  itself  under  the  most 
charming  form.  Just  as  I  am  about  to  return  reluc 
tantly  to  my  berth,  the  stewards  begin  running  through 
the  corridors,  ringing  bells,  and  opening  cabin-doors 
to  tell  us  that  the  steamer  is  not  going  on  to  Toronto ; 
that  if  we  wish  to  do  so,  we  must  take  another,  but 
that  we  are  at  liberty  to  remain  for  the  night  on  this 
one,  provided  we  go  back  with  it  on  the  morrow  to 
Prescott,  our  starting-point,  to  return  the  next  day  — 
a  delightful  prospect  for  travellers  in  a  hurry !  We 
have  something  else  to  do  than  to  investigate  the  cause 
of  this  disappointment.  In  five  minutes,  indifferently 
dressed,  and  carrying  my  two  valises,  I  am  on  the  deck, 
not  knowing  what  to  do  next.  On  one  hand,  there  is 
the  other  steamer,  which  will  reach  Toronto,  Heaven 
only  knows  when, —  probably  too  late  for  mass  (it  is 
Sunday) ;  on  the  other,  there  are  some. houses  near  by, 
in  which  lights  still  show,  and  where  one  may  perhaps 
find  a  room.  A  wharf-porter,  of  whom  I  make  inquiry, 
praises  their  accommodations,  seizes  my  luggage,  hur 
ries  me  along  with  him,  and  before  I  can  recover  from 
my  surprise  I  am  in  the  front  room  of  a  noisy  tavern. 
The  proprietor,  who  is  very  civil,  but  busy  with  the 
sailors  of  the  departing  steamer,  installs  me  in  the 
plain  private  parlor,  and  begs  me  to  wait.  I  begin  to 
wonder  where  I  am.  Perhaps  the  best  thing  would  be 
to  take  the  boat  for  Toronto.  But  would  I  get  there 
in  time,  or  find  it  at  all?  And  there  goes  a  big  bell 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  93 

— it  is  the  signal  for  the  steamer  to  leave.  Luckily, 
the  sailors,  who  have  been  making  a  disturbance  in  the 
other  room,  rush  out  to  catch  the  boat.  The  hotel- 
keeper,  now  at  leisure,  conducts  me  to  a  room  that  is 
almost  clean,  and  I  lie  down  half  undressed,  hoping 
that,  though  sleep  is  out  of  the  question,  owing  to  the 
Stirling  heat,  I  may  enjoy  at  least  a  little  repose  and 
quiet.  Alas,  we  are  in  the  country ;  and  everybody 
knows  the  quiet  which  that  implies !  An  hour  after 
my  installation,  a  rooster  under  my  window  celebrates 
the  joyous  dawn,  and  —  the  irony  of  it! —  I  hear  him 
chanting  with  all  his  heart,  to  —  Toronto  !  After  the 
rooster  come  other  denizens  of  the  farm-yard,  and  their 
human  masters  ;  so  that  there  is  nothing  left  for  me  to 
do  but  rise.  At  six  o'clock  I  begin  to  explore  the 
town,  chiefly  with  a  view  to  finding  a  way  out  of  it. 
Fortunately,  there  are  both  street-cars  and  steam  rail 
ways.  I  enter  the  church  as  soon  as  it  is  open ;  and 
having  set  my  conscience  at  ease  on  this  point,  I  return 
to  mine  inn.  Two  men,  who  do  not  impress  me 
very  favorably,  scrutinize  me,  stop  their  animated  con 
versation,  and  go  forward  to  advise  the  hotel-keeper 
of  my  return.  Resolving  to  give  up  the  inaccessible 
Toronto,  where,  luckily,  I  have  not  announced  my 
prospective  visit  to  the  Basilian  Fathers  who  had 
invited  me  to  their  college,  I  inquire  the  quickest  way 
to  reach  Buffalo,  which  I  know  to  be  somewhere  near, 
and  which  is  also  in  my  itinerary.  I  learn  that  there 
will  be  a  train  in  two  hours.  On  this  blessed  assurance, 
I  order  breakfast;  and  in  the  meantime  I  seat  myself 
on  a  hillock  to  view  the  lake  at  my  feet  and  enjoy  as 


94  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

I  may  the  unforeseen  situation.  So  at  noon  I  shall  be 
in  the  friendly  quarters  of  Buffalo  College;  and  I  shall 
see  Niagara  by  sunset ! 

On  entering  the  hotel,  —  let  us  for  courtesy  call  it 
a  hotel, —  I  learn  that  the  train  does  not  run  on  Sun 
day  morning,  but  that  this  evening  .  .  .  No,  sir! 
Lose  a  day  in  this  oven  ?  For  no  consideration. 
"  Where  do  these  cars  go  that  pass  the  church  ?  "  I 
inquire.  To  Rochester.  Then  I  am  for  Rochester. 
My  decision  may  seem  abrupt;  but  as  Rochester  is  a 
city  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  souls,  there 
must  be  several  daily  trains  from  there  to  Buffalo. 
There  is  one,  I  am  told,  at  noon.  Rochester,  I  may 
add,  is  not  a  mere  name  to  me.  In  it  there  resides  an 
old  bishop  named  Mac  Quaid,  who  passes  for  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  in  the  United  States,  having, 
among  other  things,  established  a  Seminary  whose 
renown  has  spread  throughout  all  America.  Almost 
everywhere  I  have  been  advised  to  call  on  him.  But 
because,  on  account  of  some  disagreement  that  he  had 
with  Mgr.  Ireland,  he  used  to  be  represented  in  France 
as  hostile  to  that  movement  with  which  circumstances 
had  associated  me,  I  had  declined  all  the  introductions 
to  him  which  had  been  offered  me.  I  should  not  be 
sorry,  however,  to  get  a  passing  glimpse  of  his  episco 
pal  city. 

But  how,  with  my  valises,  can  I  reach  the  car  ? 
This  country  is  short  of  porters.  The  two  men  whom 
a  short  time  ago  I  had  misjudged  so  badly  that  I  was 
almost  afraid  of  them,  now  came  up  to  me  respectfully. 
"You  are  a  Catholic  priest?"  said  one.  Yes.  "We 


Copyright,  1904,  by  J.  E.  Mock 


BISHOP    MAC  QUA1D 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  95 

thought  so,  seeing  you  at  the  church  so  early.  Will 
you  give  us  your  blessing,  Father?"  And  they  knelt 
down.  "  Now,  Father,  let  us  carry  your  baggage." 
And  off  I  start  between  two  Irish  laborers,  who  tell 
me  of  their  little  affairs ;  I  might  be  interested  in  the 
narrative  if  they  would  but  speak  more  slowly  and  one 
at  a  time.  They,  too,  advise  me  to  visit  St.  Bernard's 
Seminary,  which  is  "  the  finest  in  the  world."  As  they 
take  leave  of  me,  I  press  their  hands  cordially;  it  is 
the  only  pay  they  will  accept. 

The  car  spins  along  with  the  speed  of  an  express ; 
I  hope  I  shall  not  miss  the  Buffalo  train. 

We  must  be  nearing  Rochester,  for  villas,  still 
somewhat  scattered,  succeed  to  the  open  fields.  Here 
to  the  left  is  an  immense  building,  severe  and  elegant, 
surmounted  by  a  cross.  Can  this  be  the  famous 
Seminary  ?  A  priest  boards  the  car ;  I  put  the  ques 
tion  to  him ;  he  answers  in  the  affirmative.  In  turn, 
he  asks  me  whence  I  come ;  and  as  the  clergy  of  Paris 
are  not  in  the  habit  of  spending  their  vacations  on  the 
borders  of  Lake  Ontario,  my  answer  interests  him. 
"  You  must  come  and  see  the  Seminary."  "  But  I 
am  going  to  Buffalo."  "  You  can  go  later."  "  My 
time  is  very  limited."  "  Nevertheless,  you  are  not 
going  to  pass  through  Rochester  without  calling  on 
our  Bishop?"  Now  we  are  in  for  it.  I  offer  various 
objections,  which  are  instantly  disposed  of.  "Any 
how,"  I  say,  "  I  have  no  introduction."  "  Never 
mind  that;  I  am  the  Superior  of  the  Seminary,  and  I 
will  present  you.  You  have  never  heard  of  Bishop 
Mac  Quaid  ?  "  "•  Oh  yes,  indeed ;  and  that  is  just  the 


96  IN   THE   LAND   OF 

trouble.  I  appreciate  him  highly,  but  I  fear — he  does 
not  reciprocate.  Let  us  be  frank;  here  is  my  card." 
The  effect  was  not  what  I  expected.  "  Oh,  then, 
Bishop  Mac  Quaid  will  be  delighted  to  see  you.  I 
will  answer  for  him.  Here  we  are!  Let  me  take 
your  baggage ! "  No  sooner  said  than  done ;  and 
when  the  car  stops,  my  valises  are  put  off,  so  I  must 
follow  them.  The  episcopal  residence  is  close  by. 
The  Superior  goes  to  inform  the  Bishop,  and  leaves 
me  alone  in  the  parlor,  where  I  am  more  than  surprised 
to  find  myself. 

Almost  immediately  the  Bishop  appears,  and  offers 
me  his  hand  in  the  whole-souled  fashion  which  I  admire 
so  much  in  Bishop  Spalding.  Nothing  that  I  have  yet 
seen  is  so  thoroughly  American  as  this  old  man  of 
eighty  years,  straight,  thick-set,  vigorous,  with  a  frank 
and  resolute  bearing.  Far  from  allowing  me  a  word 
of  excuse,  he  declares  in  a  tone  that  admits  of  no  denial 
that  he  is  pleased  to  see  me,  and  is  at  my  disposal. 
"You  come  to  look  for  ideas,  of  course,  and  for  infor 
mation?"  "Just  so,  Monseigneur;  the  encouraging 
example  of  what  is  taking  place  in  the  United  States. 
.  .  ."  "  Your  countrymen,  indeed,  might  profit  much 
by  what  is  good  here,  instead  of  ...  They  do  not 
see  things  in  the  right  light,  your  countrymen.  How 
much  time  can  you  spare  me? "  "I  meant  to  take  the 
ten  o'clock  train  for  Buffalo.  Is  there  one  at  noon?" 
The  only  answer  is  a  frown.  "  Is  there  one  at  two 
o'clock  ? "  c<  In  that  time  we  could  do  nothing  at  all ; 
how  many  days  can  you  stay? "  "  Well,  then,  frankly, 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  97 

I  will  stop  till  to-morrow  morning/*  <c  I  am  sorry  the 
stay  is  so  short.  Well,  then,  there  is  no  time  to  lose. 
Here  is  your  room ;  make  yourself  at  home.  I  will 
order  the  carnage." 

Ten  minutes  afterward  I  was  rolling  along  in  an 
open  landau  with  the  man  who  is  regarded  in  Europe 
as  the  most  conservative  prelate  in  the  United  States. 
The  conversation,  which  the  Bishop  maintained  in 
French,  was  soon  on  a  footing  of  confidence,  and  did 
not  lag  for  an  instant  the  entire  day. 

"  I  am  going  to  show  you  first  my  Normal  School 
for  sisters.  They  must  receive  a  good  education  them 
selves  before  undertaking  to  teach  others.  A  woman 
with  some  initiative,  Marie  du  Sacre  Coeur,  tried  to  start 
that  work  among  you ;  you  did  not  understand  her. 
When  I  founded  this  diocese,  in  1868,  —  you  know 
that  I  am  its  first  bishop, — there  were  eight  poor 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  here.  I  adopted  them  as  a 
diocesan  congregation.  To-day  there  are  four  hun 
dred.  I  get  whatever  service  I  desire  from  them, 
without  having  to  apply  to  distant  superiors,  or  to 
encounter  regulations  made  for  other  conditions. 
They  pass  a  State  examination  at  Albany ;  this  is  not 
exacted  by  the  Government,  but  I  insist  on  it.  You 
are  going  to  see  how  they  work." 

We  visit  the  laboratories,  the  library,  the  study- 
halls,  where,  High  Mass  being  over,  several  young 
sisters  are  reading  or  writing.  What  I  see  and  what  I 
hear  give  me  the  impression  that  the  work  is  solid, 
the  methods  up-to-date,  the  courses  of  study  sound 
and  proportioned  to  the  aptitude  of  each  pupil.  Some 


98  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

sisters  are  appointed  to  teach  elementary  and  advanced 
science ;  others  history,  Latin,  Greek,  and  various  mod 
ern  languages.  Both  sisters  and  novices  are  almost 
all  from  this  diocese;  a  few  are  from  other  parts  of 
America ;  two  or  three  from  Germany.  "  If  you  know," 
said  the  Bishop,  turning  to  me,  "  of  any  young  French 
women  who  have  a  true  vocation  as  teachers,  and  can 
not  follow  it  at  home,  send  them  to  Rochester."  This 
invitation  was  seriously  meant,  and  was  seconded  by 
the  Mother  Superior.  In  every  room  that  we  pass 
through,  and  in  the  kitchen,  too,  the  Bishop  is  wel 
comed  with  evident  joy.  In  his  own  blunt  way  he 
scatters  jokes,  counsel,  and  when  requested,  a  brief 
blessing:  "  God  bless  you,  God  bless  you."  One  feels 
that  at  a  sign  from  him  these  good  sisters  would  be 
ready  to  fling  themselves  into  the  fire,  and  that  he 
knows  it. 

The  Normal  School  is  now  at  the  entrance  of  the 
city,  which  continues  to  grow.  The  price  of  ground 
has  risen  a  great  deal  since  Bishop  Mac  Quaid  pur 
chased  sixty  acres  here  for  the  sisters ;  he  has  recently 
sold  twenty  acres  of  it  for  a  sum  sufficient  to  cover  not 
only  the  cost  of  the  whole  property,  but  of  all  the 
buildings  also.  He  tells  me  all  this,  as  the  carriage 
conveys  us  to  the  gorges  and  falls  of  the  Genesee 
River.  We  descend  at  a  very  picturesque  bridge.  The 
Bishop  invites  me  to  admire  the  landscape,  which  is 
very  pretty.  "And  all  that,"  says  he,  "is  as  instructive 
as  it  is  beautiful.  These  grounds  are  very  rich  in 
fossil  specimens ;  and,  you  observe,  the  river  has  cut 
through  and  exposed  the  different  stratifications.  It  is 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  99 

a  real  geological  museum  which  Providence  has  fur 
nished  to  the  seminarians  of  Rochester.  We  have 
gathered  a  fine  collection  from  it,  with  abundant 
material  for  exchanges."  He  welcomed  my  offer  of 
putting  him,  for  this  purpose,  in  communication  with 
M.  de  Lapparent,  who  superintends  our  collection  in 
the  Catholic  Institute  of  Paris. 

"Now,"  said  the  Bishop,  "you  are  going  to  see 
my  Seminary."  And  one  can  guess  from  the  tone  of 
this  simple  phrase  how  much  the  good  old  Bishop's 
idea  of  his  Seminary  represents  of  work  accomplished, 
of  hopes  still  growing,  and  of  conscience  satisfied. 
Indeed,  one  quite  understands,  after  having  seen  it, 
that  it  is  something  to  be  proud  of.  I  am  afraid  of 
falling  into  the  American  abuse  of  superlatives ;  but, 
truly,  nowhere  have  I  seen  a  better  plan,  or  a  better 
adaptation  of  everything  that  may  serve,  materially, 
intellectually,  and  morally,  to  prepare  young  clerics  for 
their  great  mission.  From  the  very  entrance,  where 
you  pass  under  the  Gothic  arches  of  the  graceful  tower 
which  divides  the  building  into  two  portions,  you  are 
struck  with  the  harmony  and  amplitude  of  the  general 
lines,  as  well  as  with  the  exact  adaptation  of  all  the 
interior  details  to  the  purpose  in  view.  Everything 
must  have  been  long  meditated  and  settled  by  the 
founder  before  the  construction  was  taken  in  hand. 
The  Seminary  has  been  built  ten  years ;  Bishop  Mac 
Quaid  spent  thirty  in  planning  it.  In  the  execution, 
it  is  true,  simplicity  was  everywhere  consulted ;  but  at 
the  same  time  elegance  and  comfort  as  well.  Elec 
tricity,  steam-heating,  scientific  ventilation,  numerous 


TOO  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

bath-rooms,  commodious  furniture,  a  good  door  and 
window  plan;  a  bakery  equipped  with  machines  for 
kneading;  a  refectory  that  is  a  real  dining-room,  with 
its  separate  tables,  and  its  silver  service;  a  reading- 
room,  which  is  a  salon,  with  newspapers  and  periodicals ; 
students*  rooms  furnished  with  sober  elegance;  corri 
dors  which  are  galleries  filled  with  photographs  and 
engravings  fit  to  develop  the  artistic  sense ;  every 
thing,  in  short,  speaks  of  culture,  and  bears  witness  to 
a  noble  solicitude  to  bring  up  as  gentlemen  these  young 
men  sprung  from  the  people,  yet  destined  to  serve  them 
as  guides  in  the  higher  life.  Even  in  a  recent  letter1  to 
his  priests,  recommending  to  them  both  the  Prepara 
tory  and  the  chief  Seminary,  Bishop  Mac  Quaid 
vigorously  insists  upon  the  necessity  of  providing 
for  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  students.  "A 
mistaken  notion  prevails  that  only  hardships  and 
sufferings  build  up  strong  characters.  This  notion 
may  have  some  force,  but  in  a  full  estimation  of  the 
value  of  this  system  some  account  must  be  taken 
of  the  wrecks  that  line  the  road, —  wrecks  >of  ruined 
stomachs,  disordered  nerves,  weakened  lungs,  and 
premature  corpses,  that  have  paid  the  penalty  of  dis 
regard  of  the  laws  of  health." 

The  Bishop  of  Rochester  can  well  judge  of  the  life 
which  his  seminarians  lead ;  for  he  shares  it.  On  arriv 
ing,  without  being  received  by  anybody,  we  go  straight 
to  his  rooms.  These  are  no  solemn  suites  of  apart 
ments,  occupied  but  twice  a  year;  they  consist  of  a  bed 
room  which  has  been  used  yesterday  and  is  ready  for 

1  Bearing  date  August  20,  1903. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  101 

use  to-day  or  to-morrow,  and  a  study  where  there  is  a 
desk  covered  with  books  that  are  being  read  and  letters 
waiting  to  be  answered.  When  we  go  to  the  refectory, 
the  Bishop's  entrance,  though  unannounced,  is  not  an 
event.  It  is  merely  a  matter  of  two  additional  covers; 
in  fact,  not  even  that,  because  there  are  vacant  places, 
several  of  the  professors  being  absent  assisting  in  the 
neighboring  parishes  for  the  Sunday. 

The  only  exceptional  feature  of  the  meal  is  the 
number  of  wines  served, —  four  or  five,  unless  I  mis 
take,  which  is  something  in  America,  and  above  all  in 
a  seminary,  that  calls  for  explanation.  It  must  be 
observed  that,  like  the  late  Cardinal  Lavigerie,  whose 
characteristics  Bishop  Mac  Quaid  more  than  once  re 
called  to  me,  the  latter  is  a  great  viticulturist.  He 
grows,  I  do  not  know  how  many  kinds  of  excellent 
wine-grapes ;  and  he  is  as  proud  of  the  diploma  his 
wines  won  at  Bordeaux  as  he  is  of  his  Seminary.  He 
questioned  me,  not  without  a  little  quib,  as  to  what 
wines  we  were  then  drinking;  and  I,  who,  despite  his 
injunctions,  had  been  drowning  my  wine  with  water, 
took  a  mouthful  of  meat,  wondering  what  I  should 
reply.  At  a  venture, —  or,  to  be  frank,  after  casting  a 
hasty  glance  at  the  oblong  form  of  the  bottles, — with 
the  air  of  a  connoisseur  I  pronounced  it  to  be  Moselle, 
or,  more  probably  still,  Rhenish.  I  hit  it  exactly ;  for 
the  vintages  of  the  Bishop  of  Rochester  claim,  perhaps 
not  without  reason,  to  rival  the  Deidesheimer  and 
Liebfrauenmilch  ones.  I  believe  it  was  at  this  point 
that  the  Bishop's  tone  toward  me  passed  from  kindness 
to  sympathy.  My  sentiments  toward  him  had  already 


102  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

changed  from  fear  into  curiosity,  then  to  respect,  and 
next  to  admiration. 

I  should  have  no  reservation  whatever  to  make 
regarding  him,  if  he  had  not,  from  one  o'clock  to  three, 
during  a  terrible  heat  and  after  a  sleepless  night,  led 
me,  notwithstanding  my  timid  hints,  through  all  the 
marvels  of  his  Seminary,  from  the  well-filled  wine- 
cellars  to  the  top  stories  wisely  arranged  as  gymna 
siums  and  recreation  halls  for  rainy  days.  Hence  I 
have  retained  only  a  rather  vague  impression  about 
many  highly  interesting  things, —  the  library,  museums, 
laboratories,  and  the  chapel  itself;  all  I  can  say  is  that 
many  a  university  would  be  glad  to  see  itself  so  well 
equipped.  At  last,  however,  as  the  hour  fixed  for  a 
conference  which  the  Bishop  was  to  give  to  the  stu 
dents  was  approaching,  I  flatly  declared  that  I  could 
not  take  advantage  of  it  unless  I  should  first  get  a  nap. 
The  indefatigable  patriarch  looked  at  me  with  aston 
ishment,  but  directed  me  to  a  sofa,  upon  which  I 
dropped  like  a  log.  Waking  up  in  time,  thoroughly 
refreshed,  I  listened  with  the  greatest  interest  to  his 
talk  of  an  hour  and  a  quarter. 

He  spoke  to  a  select  audience,  in  which  every  face 
shone  with  intelligence,  uprightness,  candor,  and  health, 
both  moral  and  physical.  Doubtful  and  incapable  can 
didates  are  got  rid  of  without  hesitation ;  vocations  are 
surely  numerous  enough  to  permit  of  a  rigorous  selec 
tion,  and  the  Bishop  tolerates  no  mediocrity  in  the 
priesthood.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  semi 
narians,  eighty-nine  come  from  here,  there,  and  every 
where,  on  account  of  the  high  reputation  which  the 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  103 

course  enjoys.1  To  Rochester  belong  forty-five,  a 
number  sufficient  for  a  diocese  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
thousand  souls.  Between  this  fine  body  of  young  men 
and  this  wonderful  old  man  who  addresses  them  the 
current  of  sympathy  is  not  for  a  moment  broken,  nor 
ceases  to  manifest  itself.  From  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  his  discourse,  he  remains  master  of  all  these 
souls,  carrying  them  along  with  him  from  laughter 
to  deep  emotion,  from  lofty  ideas  to  familiar  ones, 
from  reasoning  to  enthusiasm.  Nothing  could  be  more 
animated  and  picturesque.  But  who  can  give  a  sum 
mary  of  such  an  address?  "The  opening  retreat,"  he 
said  in  substance,  "finished  yesterday,  and  hearts  were 
opened  to  the  love  of  God  ;  now  minds  are  to  be  opened 
to  science.  The  students  of  St.  Bernard's  are  for 
tunate  in  having  such  facilities  for  work;  the  collec 
tions,  the  laboratories,  the  latest  books ;  the  professors 
above  all,  the  fifteen  professors,  who  for  their  sakes 
have  been  sent  to  qualify  themselves  in  the  old  univer 
sities  of  Europe.  Ah  !  in  my  time  it  was  not  so. 
Learning  Latin  in  America  at  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century  was  not  an  easy  task.  To  do  so, 
one  had  to  go  by  boat  and  coach  from  New  York  to 
Montreal ;  and  what  adventures  there  were  along  the 
way !  When  you  reached  the  seminary  there  were 
just  two  professors,  who  taught  everything  and  knew 
nothing.  There  was  scarcely  time  to  study  then; 
the  year  that  I  was  born,  there  were  in  the  State  of 
New  York  just  eight  priests ;  now  there  are  nine  dio 
ceses."  And  thus  he  continued  to  contrast  the  obscure 

1  The  professors,  to  the  number  of  fifteen,  are  almost  all  doctors  in  the  branches 
which  they  respectively  teach. 


104  IN    THE    LAND   OF 

past  with  the  brilliant  present,  and  to  point  out  the 
resulting  obligations ;  following  throughout  only  what 
Pascal  calls  the  order  of  the  heart,  but  following  it  so 
well  that  when  he  had  finished  talking  the  students, 
much  affected,  kept  looking  at  him  proudly,  as  though 
to  say  to  me,  "  This  man  is  our  Bishop,  and  you 
see  how  things  go  with  us!"  In  the  presence  of  a 
Catholicism  so  prosperous,  I  could  scarcely  believe 
that  all  this  had  developed  within  the  lifetime  of  one 
man ;  and  when  the  octogenarian  Bishop  was  speaking 
of  the  humble  beginnings  of  the  American  Church,  I 
pictured  to  myself  the  first  apostles  of  the  Gauls 
assisting  at  the  opening  of  our  thirteenth  century. 

After  the  conference,  a  visitor  having  been  an 
nounced,  the  Bishop  intrusted  me  to  one  of  the 
seminarians,  and  charged  him  to  show  me  the  gardens, 
orchards,  and  park,  all  forming  one  large  estate  stretch 
ing  down  to  the  banks  of  the  Genesee  River.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  the  young  people  here  have  the 
freedom  of  the  entire  domain  for  their  recreations, 
without  any  of  those  restrictions  which  would  indicate 
they  were  not  treated  as  men.  My  companion  told 
me  that  twice  a  week  they  took  a  long  walk  in  com 
plete  freedom,  through  the  country,  or,  if  they  chose, 
visited  their  friends  in  the  city.  When  we  were  with 
the  Bishop  again,  on  leaving  the  Seminary,  I  compli 
mented  him  sincerely  on  all  that  I  had  seen,  without 
concealing  that  some  of  the  usages,  notably  the  free 
walks,  differed  entirely  from  our  ways.  "  Still,  it  is 
very  simple,"  he  replied ;  "  if  I  have  confidence  in 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  105 

my  seminarians,  I  ought  to  let  them  go  wherever  they 
please ;  if  I  have  not,  I  ought  not  to  ordain  them.  I 
treat  them  as  gentlemen ;  they  know  it,  and  they  do 
not  abuse  their  privileges." 

As  we  drove  along,  he  pointed  out  to  me  the  fields 
and  vineyards  which  belonged  to  the  Seminary  Corpora 
tion,  constituted  by  him.  These  do  not,  however,  suf 
fice  to  maintain  the  institution,  even  though  there  is 
no  debt  on  the  building  and  several  chairs  are  endowed; 
the  deficit  is  largely  met  by  annual  collections  and  a 
permanent  subscription  list.  "We  received  for  the 
seminaries  in  1902,  without  counting  special  donations, 
over  fourteen  thousand  dollars  in  small  offerings  in  a 
diocese  that  is  only  thirty-five  years  in  existence,  and 
in  which  new  parishes,  with  churches,  presbyteries,  and 
schools,  continue  to  be  established  —  all  this  without 
Government  assistance.  What  do  you  think  of  it?" 
I  thought,  though  I  did  not  say  so,  that  the  Bishop 
was  a  wonderful  man,  that  the  clergy  were  zealous,  and 
the  laity  generous ;  and  that  before  finding  fault  with 
them,  others  ought  to  show  themselves  capable  of 
doing  what  they  have  done.  It  is  true  that  the  Catho 
lics  here  are  free,  like  everybody  else.  A  bishop,  a 
priest,  a  religionist,  enjoys  here  equal  rights  with  other 
citizens,  and  religious  associations  are  on  a  footing  of 
equality  with  civil  ones.  Religious  institutions,  such 
as  churches,  seminaries,  schools,  asylums,  possessing  a 
character  of  public  utility,  are  for  the  most  part  exempt 
from  taxation.  Without  pushing  our  ambition  so  far 
as  this,  could  not  we,  too,  in  case  the  budget  of  public 
worship  were  suppressed,  fight  on  the  same  platform 


io6  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

of  common  rights,  and  win — I  do  not  say  receive,  I 
say  win  —  the  liberties  which  are  indispensable  ?  Who 
shall  dare  say  that  in  France  Catholics  are  incapable  of 
a  similar  effort  ?  Energy  and  knowledge  for  occasion 
are  born  of  necessity. 

We  reach  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  belonging  to 
another  corporation,  which  meets  part  of  its  expenses 
from  the  sale  of  flowers  raised  in  gardens  and  hot 
houses  near  by.  Like  the  cemetery  of  Montreal,  it 
is  at  once  the  abode  of  the  dead  and  a  place  of  recrea 
tion  for  the  living.  We  drive  through  its  shady  roads, 
and  get  out  of  the  vehicle  only  to  pray  at  the  mortuary 
chapel  where  the  Bishop  officiates  on  All  Souls'  Day. 
The  cult  of  the  departed  is  as  fervent  in  America  as 
in  Paris ;  the  graves  are  as  well  kept,  but  they  do  not 
offer  the  same  aspect  of  mourning.  Among  this  peo 
ple,  optimistic  by  nature,  and  confiding  in  God,  death 
itself  loses  its  desolation. 

"  What  more  can  we  see  ?  Sunday  is  inconvenient." 
Rested  somewhat  by  the  drive  and  the  coolness  which 
the  approach  of  evening  has  brought,  I  do  not  protest. 
Beside,  my  cicerone  must  stop  at  nightfall.  I  am 
conducted  to  an  academy  for  young  girls,  kept  by  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  We  arrive  in  time  for  Benedic 
tion  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Then  follows  some 
conversation  with  the  sisters  and  the  young  girls.  We 
recount  our  day's  doings.  As  there  are  several  teachers 
and  pupils  of  the  science  course  present,  the  Bishop 
invites  them  to  visit  the  Seminary  museum,  and  to 
start  one  of  their  own  with  the  fossils  and  shells  that 
they  can  gather  in  the  gorges  of  the  river. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  107 

Somewhat  late  for  the  dinner  hour,  we  return  to  the 
Bishop's  house.  I  do  not  say  to  the  episcopal  palace, 
for  in  America  a  bishop  is  not  lodged  with  any  special 
pomp;  he  resides  at  the  presbytery  of  the  cathedral, 
together  with  his  secretary,  the  rector,  and  two  or  three 
assistants,  and  perhaps  his  vicar-general.  During  din 
ner,  which,  fortunately,  was  plain  and  expeditious,  I 
was  questioned  concerning  the  religious  and  politi 
cal  situation  in  France,  which  everybody  considered 
incomprehensible. 

After  dinner  it  is  I  who  assume  the  offensive,  and 
as  soon  as  I  find  myself  alone  with  my  venerable  host, 
of  whom  I  have  no  longer  the  slightest  fear,  I  ask  him, 
without  any  beating  about  the  bush,  as  to  the  facts  con 
cerning  his  disagreement  with  Archbishop  Ireland, 
which  has  been  talked  of  even  in  Europe.  The  adver 
saries  of  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul  have  indeed  made 
much  of  the  solemn  protest  addressed  to  him  by  Bishop 
Mac  Quaid,  after  the  Archbishop's  attack  upon  Tam 
many  in  the  New  York  elections.  According  to  the 
only  report  within  our  reach,  the  old  Bishop,  from  his 
pulpit,  went  so  far  as  to  use  the  following  words,  which 
are  not  the  strongest  of  the  discourse : 

I  maintain  that  in  thus  coming  to  New  York  to  take  part  in  a 
political  struggle,  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul  has  acted  in  a  manner 
unbecoming  his  episcopal  character,  and  has  thereby  given  scandal  to 
all  right-minded  Catholics  on  both  sides.  It  was,  beside,  a  piece 
of  unwarrantable  interference  on  his  part  to  leave  his  own  State  and 
come  here  to  destroy  all  discipline  among  the  priests,  and  give  our 
opponents  an  opportunity  to  say  that  priests  are  partisans,  and  use 

their  influence  for  party  ends It  is  no  excuse  to  say  that 

the  Archbishop  is  working  in  the  interests  of  reform.     Every  other 


io8  IN    THE    LAND   OF 

cleric  aspiring  to  political  honors  would  say  the  same.  Beside,  the 
city  of  New  York  is  quite  able  to  manage  its  own  affairs  without  any 
help  from  outside,  as  the  last  election  has  just  proved.  And  if  we 
may  believe  the  newspapers,  the  legislature  of  Minnesota  stands 
greatly  in  need  of  purification,  and  his  Grace  would  find  there  an 
ample  outlet  for  his  political  zeal. 

Bishop  Mac  Quaid  would  not  be  the  American, — 
the  energetic,  straightforward  man  that  preeminently 
he  is, — if  he  felt  any  embarrassment  in  explaining  his 
position  with  regard  to  a  personal  matter.  "  You  must 
not  take  me  for  an  enemy  of  Archbishop  Ireland,"  he 
said.  "  I  have  always  admired  his  zeal ;  and  at  present 
we  are  on  the  best  of  terms.  But  at  the  time  you 
speak  of  he  meddled  a  deal  too  much  in  things  that 
did  not  concern  him.  His  interference  in  the  New 
York  elections  raised  trouble  among  the  Catholics.  It 
was  intolerable,  especially  for  me,  who  have  always  looked 
upon  poor  Archbishop  Corrigan  as  my  spiritual  son. 
A  protest  was  needed,  and  I  undertook  the  burden  of 
it.  It  did  not  please  them  in  Rome.  Cardinal  Ram- 
polla  reprimanded  me,  saying  that  only  the  Holy  See 
had  the  right  to  blame  bishops.  But  all  the  same, 
Ireland  gave  up  meddling  in  New  York  affairs,  and 
left  Corrigan  at  peace."  The  recollection  of  the  whole 
episode  did  not  seem  to  be  disagreeable  to  the  Bishop ; 
so  I  thought  I  might  press  a  little  further  and  ask  him 
what  he  had  done  with  regard  to  the  proceeding  of  the 
Holy  See.  "I  replied,"  said  he,  "that  I  regretted 
having  displeased  the  Holy  Father,  but  that  I  was 
sending  an  explanation  to  the  Propaganda,  and  they 
would  see  that  if  I  was  to  blame  I  was  not  the  only 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  109 

one."    After  a  moment's  pause,  he  added :  "  Of  course, 
you  understand,  I  had  to  plead  guilty/* 

Such  was  the  conversation  which  brought  this 
unforeseen  day  to  a  close.  As  I  retired  early  to 
sleep  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Bishop  MacQuaid, 
I  was  more  than  consoled  for  not  having  seen  Toronto. 

Early  the  next  morning,  my  host  came  to  bid  me 
farewell.  "  Since  you  insist/'  he  said,  "  upon  going 
this  morning,  it  is  useless  to  upset  my  plans.  I  am 
leaving  on  a  short  journey.  I  have  given  instructions 
that  after  your  mass  they  shall  show  you  the  school ; 
it  will  be  well  worth  your  while  to  see  it.  You  will 
perhaps  be  surprised  to  find  it  a  mixed  one,  and  to 
see  that  here  the  sisters  teach  boys  as  well  as  girls. 
In  Europe  you  have  so  many  prejudices!"  I  bowed 
under  this  reproach,  as  if  it  had  been  personal ;  and  I 
asked  this  holy  old  man  for  his  blessing.  "  God  bless 
you,  God  bless  you,"  he  said,  almost  with  emotion; 
while  I  felt  it  very  strongly.  Then  he  went  away. 
Providence  had  made  me  acquainted,  involuntarily  on 
my  part,  with  one  of  the  most  illustrious  pioneers  of 
Catholicism  in  the  United  States. 

The  two  hours  between  mass  and  the  departure 
of  the  train  I  spent  in  visiting  the  parochial  school, 
in  company  with  the  rector  of  the  cathedral.  There 
are  eighteen  Catholic  parishes  in  Rochester,1  and 
eighteen  Catholic  schools.  This  cathedral  school 
numbers  560  boys  and  566  girls.  All  the  schools  are 

1  Twelve  are  English  speaking  ;  four,  German  ;  one,  French  j  one,   Polish  j  and 
attached  to  the  cathedral  there  is  a  chapel  for  the  Italians. 


no  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

not  so  large.  In  this  one,  twenty-two  classes  are 
pointed  out  to  me.  As  usual,  I  am  presented  first  to 
the  sister,  who  responds  with  the  customary  handshake 
and  "  very  much  pleased,"  then  to  the  children,  who 
await  this  formality  before  rising  and  making  their 
graceful  bow.  Although  this  is  a  primary  school 
(grammar  school)  recruited  from  the  masses,  the  dress, 
manners,  and  deportment  of  the  pupils  recall  rather 
our  colleges  and  convents.  Our  talk,  very  brief,  and 
varying  according  to  the  ages  of  the  children,  turns  on 
America  and  on  Paris  —  a  name  which  awakens  almost 
universal  curiosity.  In  each  class-room  there  are  both 
boys  and  girls,  seated,  however,  on  different  benches. 
In  the  highest  class  there  are  seven  or  eight  boys  and 
girls  of  from  fifteen  to  sixteen  years,  whom  a  sister  is 
instructing  in  stenography  and  typewriting.  The 
infant  classes  are  not  the  least  interesting;  one  in  par 
ticular  I  notice,  made  up  of  little  Italians,  whose 
parents,  recent  immigrants,  do  not  teach  them  English. 
They  are  not  quite  so  neat  and  well  dressed  as  the 
young  Americans,  but  noticeably  better  than  they 
would  be  in  their  native  country.  They  are  kept  in  a 
room  by  themselves  until  they  understand  English; 
afterward  —  that  is,  in  six  or  seven  weeks  —  they  are 
distributed  among  the  general  classes,  where  very  soon 
(for  usually  they  are  extremely  bright)  they  learn  to 
speak  as  well  as  the  others.  Here  one  sees,  in  almost 
mechanically  perfect  operation,  one  of  the  most 
effective  agencies  of  assimilation. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  school-work  is  pre 
ceded  by  prayer.     It  is  the  same  almost  everywhere 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  in 

throughout  the  United  States  in  educational  institu 
tions,  both  public  and  private.  In  the  colleges,  too, 
even  in  the  universities,  the  day's  studies  open  with  a 
prayer  or  a  hymn,  usually  followed  by  a  lesson  from 
the  Bible.  For  this  initial  ceremony,  all  gather  in  the 
assembly-room  or  chapel.  It  is  important  to  fix  well 
in  mind  that  America  is  a  Christian  nation,  and  that 
its  neutrality  consists,  not  in  dissociating  itself  from 
religion,  still  less  in  antagonizing  it,  but  in  exhibiting 
a  benevolent  impartiality  toward  the  different  denomi 
nations.  Let  us  add  that  in  the  Catholic  schools  the 
class  begins  daily  with  half  an  hour  of  catechism.  The 
examinations  testify  that  this  practice  does  not  injure 
the  other  studies,  and  it  develops  among  the  Catholics 
a  religious  tendency  which  is  rarely  to  be  found  in  so 
high  a  degree  among  other  denominations. 

The  system  of  uniting  in  the  same  day-schools 
children  of  both  sexes,  and  of  having  them  all  taught  by 
women,  is  not  peculiar  either  to  the  diocese  of  Rochester 
or  to  Catholics.  If  in  the  United  States  there  are  some 
exceptions,  I  have  not  met  any  among  the  grammar 
schools  or  the  high  schools  which  I  have  visited. 
Whatever  Bishop  Mac  Quaid  may  say,  I  am  not  con 
vinced  that  the  opposition  in  France  to  the  mixed 
schools  rests  entirely  on  prejudice.  Education  is  not 
to  be  reformed  on  a  point  of  this  importance,  without 
taking  into  account  the  habits  and  even  the  tempera 
ments  of  different  peoples.  But  what,  for  my  part,  I 
should  accept  without  reserve,  and  what  I  think  would 
be  a  very  timely  matter  to  submit  to  public  opinion, 
is  the  idea  of  confiding  to  women  the  teaching  of  boys 


ii2  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

much  longer  than  we  do,  and  especially  for  the  entire 
period  of  primary  instruction.  Are  not  women,  indeed, 
naturally  better  adapted  than  men  for  the  work  of  edu 
cating  children?  And  what  is  wiser  than  to  leave  to 
them  this  office  which  they  are  manifestly  so  capable 
of  filling?  The  boys  will  be  none  the  less  well  trained, 
if  we  may  believe  M.  de  Rousier's  objection  to  be  the 
only  one  found  in  America  against  the  system, — 
namely,  that  there  is  some  danger,  not  that  the  boys 
will  disobey,  but  that  they  will  obey  from  a  sentiment 
of  chivalrous  delicacy  rather  than  in  response  to  the 
austere  voice  of  duty.  This  plan  would,  beside,  help 
society,  at  least  partially,  to  solve  the  "  woman  prob 
lem,"  by  increasing  considerably  the  number  of 
situations  open  to  that  sex.  Finally,  it  would  be 
an  immense  benefit,  on  one  side  for  the  Catholic 
schools,  embarrassed  just  now  to  replace  the  Brothers, 
who  have  been  suppressed, —  for  they  could  easily  find 
Christian  schoolmistresses ;  and  on  the  other,  for  the 
State  itself,  which  complains,  through  its  friends  and 
officials,  of  an  increasing  difficulty  in  keeping  up  the 
supply  of  schoolmasters.  Is  this  not,  in  truth,  one  of 
those  reforms,  very  rare  in  our  own  wrangling  country, 
upon  which  everybody  might  agree,  since  everybody 
would  reap  some  benefit  from  it?  Only  let  us  hope 
that  the  different  parties  will  take  it  up  simultaneously, 
else  those  who  hear  it  mooted  first  by  the  other  side 
will  not  fail  to  fight  it  to  the  death. 

On  leaving  Rochester  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  just 
twenty-four  hours  after  my  arrival,  I  do  not  observe 
that  my  stay  with  the  prelate  whom  some  people  in 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  113 

France  represent  as  the  most  conservative  and  reaction 
ary  in  America,  has  exactly  led  me  to  become  much 
less  progressive  than  formerly.  But  perhaps  that  may 
be  due  to  the  providential  circumstance  that  I  did  not 
remain  longer  and  visit  a  larger  number  of  institutions. 
What  might  not  have  happened  to  my  views  about 
preparatory  seminaries  if  I  had  closely  examined  Bishop 
Mac  Quaid's,  and  found  it  excellent?  For  he  deliber 
ately  turned  his  petit  seminaire  into  a  simple  day-school. 
A  pastoral  letter  explained  his  conduct  in  this  audacious 
language : 

Many  bishops,  like  the  Bishop  of  Rochester,  are  coming  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  is  in  the  elementary  or  preparatory  seminary  that 
the  foundation  of  the  clerical  life  should  be  laid.  Some  hold  that  this 
should  be  in  boarding-schools ;  others,  that  the  boy  should  not  be 
removed  too  soon  from  family  influences,  provided  that  the  family  is 
truly  Christian  and  keeps  a  home  in  which  God  is  lovingly  honored 
and  reverenced.  An  experience  of  thirty-three  years  has  convinced  us 
that  the  latter  system  is  the  better.  .  .  .  From  the  above  it  will  be  noticed 
how  great  is  the  importance  attached  to  home-training  in  the  family. 
It  is  hard  for  a  boy  to  become  a  worthy  priest,  who  has  not  led  the 
normal  life  of  the  family,  in  the  world,  but  not  of  it ;  for  a  priest 
needs  to  know  something  of  the  life  of  those  among  whom  he  will 
have  to  live,  often  sharing  in  their  sorrows  and  trials,  with  a  soul 
of  sympathy  for  the  poverty  of  many  and  a  word  of  encourage 
ment  for  all.  ...  In  St.  Andrew's  Preparatory  Seminary,  as  a  day- 
school  and  not  a  boarding-school,  the  conditions  and  experiences 
of  the  family  life  are  found.1 

I  finish  the  reading  of  this  document  as  the  train 
is  approaching  Buffalo.  Before  consigning  it  to  my 
portfolio,  I  cannot  refrain  from  reading  again  the  very 
first  sentence,  "Another  year  of  blessings  and  success 

lfThe  Pastoral  is  dated  St.  Bernard's  Day,  1903. 


ii4  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

inclines  us  to  raise  our  hearts  in  gratitude  to  the  Good 
Lord  whose  favors  meet  us  at  every  step,  and  who 
responds  to  our  endeavors  by  ever-increasing  help." 
How  many  centuries  have  elapsed  since  our  own  French 
bishops  have  had  occasion  to  begin  their  Pastorals  in  this 
strain?  Many  and  ancient  are  the  causes  of  this  differ 
ence.  But  there  is  one  about  which,  especially  to-day, 
there  can  be  no  mistake :  the  aggressive  irreligion  of  the 
public  authorities.  And  I  recall  what  Cardinal  Perraud 
wrote  to  me  apropos  of  the  translation  of  Bishop  Spald- 
ing's  works  :  "  One  is  tempted  to  envy  him,  as  one  reads 
his  enthusiastic  eulogies  of  the  republican  constitution 
under  which  he  lives,  and  of  the  respect  it  shows  for 
all  rights  and  all  sincere  convictions.  Our  French 
pseudo-liberals  sadly  need  to  go  to  this  school." 

But  it  is  high  time  to  escape  from  the  revolution 
ary  atmosphere  of  this  diocese.  And  to  think  that  I 
shall  not  have  an  opportunity  of  going  to  St.  Paul,  in 
Minnesota,  to  strengthen  myself  anew  in  the  good  old 
traditions!  However,  I  may  count  upon  Niagara  to 
erase  any  disquieting  impressions. 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  115 


CHAPTER  VI 

BUFFALO  AND  NIAGARA— NOTRE-DAME 
UNIVERSITY 

Beauty  of  Buffalo. —  The  Knights  of  Columbus. —  American 
Broad- Mindedness. — Niagara. — A  Growing  Town  :  South 
Bend. — Father  Zahm  at  Home. — The  University  of  Notre 
Dame^  Indiana. — A  School  of  Journalism. — Latin  and 
American  Systems  of  Education. —  St.  Mary's  Academy. — 
French  Origin  of  Notre  Dame. 

1DUFFALO  is  a  beautiful  and  prosperous  city.  All 
day  long  its  four  hundred  thousand  inhabitants 
are  at  work  on  the  quays  of  Lake  Erie  and  in  the  huge 
business  houses,  and  in  the  evening  scatter  into  count 
less  homes  that  stand  amid  gardens  and  lawns  on  the 
long  avenues  and  boulevards.  Nine-tenths  of  the 
city  thus  resembles  a  great  series  of  country-houses. 
It  is  as  though  one  or  two  Paris  arrondissements  were 
given  up  exclusively  to  shops  and  offices,  and  the 
other  eighteen  were  transformed  into  lovely  villages 
like  Bellevue  and  Ville  d'Avray,  only  without  the  walls 
which  hide  from  the  passer-by  the  trees  and  flowers 
and  grassy  lawns. 

I  stayed  only  three  days  in  Buffalo,  where  I  made 
my  home  with  the  Oblates  of  the  French  Congrega 
tion  of  Mary  Immaculate.  The  fathers  in  this  house, 
however,  were  all  Americans ;  and  their  Superior, 
Father  Fallen,  a  man  of  kindly  disposition  and  great 
intelligence,  made  me  feel  thoroughly  at  home  in  this 


n6  IN   THE   LAND  OF 

busy  little  congregation,  which  comprises  both  parish 
school  and  college.  Although  it  was  only  mid  Septem 
ber,  the  classes  had  already  resumed  their  work,  and  1 
insisted  that  no  one  should  take  up  his  time  by  show 
ing  me  about.  I  half  succeeded  in  my  request;  and 
after  I  had  been  taken  on  a  long  ride  in  the  electric 
cars,  and  shown  the  principal  buildings  and  parks,  I 
was  left  alone.  I  found  my  way  to  the  enormous 
coal  and  grain  elevators  along  the  wharves,  and  then 
to  the  great  Ellicot  Square  Building,  the  largest  and 
by  far  the  most  beautiful  structure  of  the  business 
section,  a  building  with  sixteen  elevators  constantly  in 
motion  and  with  offices  for  five  thousand  persons.  In 
the  evening  my  hosts  took  me  for  a  walk  under  the 
trees  of  the  great  avenues  and  promenades  along  the 
lake,  where  the  wild  buffaloes  that  have  given  the  city 
its  name  once  came  to  drink.  Then  we  visited  the 
hall  of  a  Catholic  society,  where  I  admired  the  library, 
with  its  circulating  volumes  filling  one  story  of  the 
building  and  its  books  of  reference  and  study-rooms 
occupying  another.  Men  and  women  were  seated 
about,  absorbed  in  reading;  and  the  stillness  was 
broken  only  by  the  low  voices  of  patrons  or  employees 
asking  or  giving  information.  As  we  stepped  into 
a  fine  assembly-room,  I  was  told  that  it  was  the 
meeting-place  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  This  is 
a  fraternal  secret  order  composed  exclusively  of  Catho 
lics.  The  organization  is  spread  widely  throughout 
the  United  States,  and  has  kept  itself  entirely  free 
from  the  danger  so  common  among  such  societies,  of 
pursuing  a  policy  of  selfish  exclusiveness  rather  than 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  117 

one  of  moral  improvement.  As  the  Knights  count 
many  priests  among  them,  there  is  thus  strong  reason 
for  hoping  that  they  will  always  observe  their  present 
prudence,  and  will  never  arouse  hatred  or  distrust. 
The  existence  of  such  a  union  of  Catholics  is  suffi 
ciently  accounted  for  by  the  great  number  of  secret 
societies  in  the  United  States,  from  many  of  which 
Catholics  are  barred.  Among  the  prohibited  orders 
are  the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Free  Masons,  the  former 
of  which,  I  was  told,  is  entirely  neutral  in  the  matter 
of  religion,  while  the  latter  is  not  hostile  to  the  faith, 
as  it  is  with  us.  The  microbe  of  intolerance  cannot 
thrive  in  the  moral  atmosphere  of  the  United  States. 
Even  in  organisms  where  under  other  conditions  it 
would  wax  numerous,  it  languishes  and  decays.  The 
phylloxera  of  bigotry  does  not  grow  at  the  root  of 
American  freedom. 

How  happily  distant  intolerance  is  from  America, 
this  very  city  of  Buffalo  furnished  a  characteristic  and 
not  uncommon  proof  in  the  public  reception  given  to 
its  new  bishop,  Mgr.  Colton,  fifteen  days  before  my 
arrival.  From  the  railway  station,  where  he  was  met 
with  a  distinguished  ovation,  to  the  door  of  his  cathe 
dral,  Dr.  Colton's  carnage,  escorted  by  mounted  police, 
passed  through  streets  that  were  hung  with  flags  and 
thronged  by  enthusiastic  crowds.  Then,  after  the  cere 
mony  of  installation,  the  prelates  and  clergy  reviewed 
a  great  torchlight  procession,  which  took  two  hours  and 
a  half  to  pass  the  reviewing  stand,  being  estimated  at 
thirty  thousand  men,  fifteen  thousand  of  them  mounted, 
who  marched  to  the  music  of  thirty  bands.  During 


n8  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

the  parade,   there  was  a  splendid   exhibition  of  fire 
works. 

What,  to  my  mind,  lends  the  chief  interest  to  this 
spectacle  is  that,  great  as  it  was,  it  did  not  take  place 
in  New  York,  Chicago,  or  Boston,  where  the  number 
of  Catholics  is  enormous,  and  we  might  therefore 
expect  such  a  demonstration,  but  in  a  city  where 
Catholics  are  comparatively  in  no  special  strength. 
In  the  whole  diocese  of  Buffalo  there  are  two  hun 
dred  thousand  Catholics.  The  people  not  only 
did  not  take  ill  this  homage  to  a  bishop,  but  were 
glad  to  have  a  share  in  it.  It  is  true  that  Bishop 
Colton  was  a  stranger  to  them,  but  they  recognized 
that  he  was  coming  to  do  a  helpful  work  in  their  city, 
and  that,  like  all  other  members  of  the  American 
hierarchy,  he  would  on  every  possible  occasion  work 
for  the  general  welfare  of  the  community.1 

Near  Buffalo  is  Niagara.  To  describe  the  marvel 
of  the  Falls,  pictured  by  innumerable  pens  already, 
would  be  useless  and  out  of  place.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  traveller  passes  by  in  silence  this  most 
impressive  of  his  recollections,  he  must  needs  feel 

1  How  well  Bishop  Colton  answered  these  expectations  is  seen  in  the  concluding 
words  of  the  discourse  which  he  delivered  in  the  Cathedral:  "  My  heart  goes  out  to 
you,  beloved  clergy  and  beloved  laity;  and  happy  and  prosperous  will  be  our  work 
together.  To  all  the  people  of  this  city,  of  which  henceforth  I  am  to  be  an  humble 
citizen,  I  extend  most  respectful  salutations.  In  many  things  our  work  will  be  in 
common,  and  I  will  labor  side  by  side  with  all  in  everything  that  will  redound  to  the 
honor  and  general  good  of  the  city  of  which  henceforth  I  am  to  be  an  humble  member. 
Love  of  country  and  love  of  God  are  synonymous  to  the  Christian  mind;  and  love  of 
our  fellow-countrymen  and  interest  in  their  affairs,  and  a  helping  hand  in  their  honest 
endeavors,  is  the  Christian  and  practical  way  of  carrying  out  both.  For  God  and  for 
country,  then,  and  for  the  good  he  may  do  for  his  own  and  for  all,  stands,  as  did 
his  predecessor,  the  new  Bishop  of  Buffalo." 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  119 

remorse,  as  though  he  had  been  ungrateful.  If  we 
had  no  truer  description  than  the  brilliant  but  rather 
fantastic  one  given  by  Chateaubriand  in  "Atala,"  and 
in  the  "Travels  in  America,"  one  might  be  pardoned 
for  a  long  digression  on  the  great  cataract,  on  the  bold 
pretext  that  Chateaubriand  needed  to  be  corrected. 
But  when  so  many  famous  writers  have,  left  us  exact  and 
eloquent  accounts,  what  need  is  there  of  many  words 
from  me  ?  Listen  to  Ampere,  declaring  that  for  him  the 
greatest  work  from  the  hands  of  man  are  the  ruins  of 
Thebes,  and  the  mightiest  work  of  Nature  is  the  Falls 
of  Niagara.  "  Having  seen,"  he  added,  "  all  the  falls 
of  Switzerland,  Scotland,  Norway,  and  the  Pyrenees, 
I  am  sure  that  if  all  of  them  were  put  together  they 
would  be  swallowed  and  drowned  in  Niagara.  Com 
pared  with  it,  they  are  as  pigmies  to  a  Titan."  And 
the  caustic  criticism  of  Dickens's  "American  Notes" 
passes  into  lyric  exultation  and  religious  fervor  when 
the  great  novelist  gives  voice  to  his  emotions  before 
the  majesty  of  Niagara.1 

One  of  the  numerous  books  distributed  in  pro 
fusion  by  the  steamboat  and  railway  companies  tells 
us  naively,  after  having  quoted  Dickens's  description, 
that  "since  the  great  novelist's  visit,  the  surroundings 

1  Dickens  wrote:  "  For  the  first  time  I  heard  the  mighty  rush  of  water,  and  felt 
the  ground  tremble  underneath  my  feet.  The  bank  is  very  steep,  and  was  slippery 
with  rain  and  half-melted  icej  but  I  was  soon  at  the  bottom,  deafened  by  the  noise, 
half  blinded  by  the  spray,  and  wet  to  the  skin.  We  were  at  the  foot  of  the  American 
Fall.  I  could  see  an  immense  torrent  of  water  tearing  headlong  down  from  some  great 
height,  but  had  no  idea  of  shape  or  situation,  or  anything  but  vague  immensity.  When 
we  were  seated  in  the  little  ferryboat,  and  were  crossing  the  swollen  river  immediately 
before  the  cataracts,  I  began  to  feel  what  it  was;  but  I  was  in  a  manner  stunned  and 
unable  to  comprehend  the  vastness  of  the  scene.  It  was  not  until  I  came  on  Table 
Rock  and  looked, —  great  Heaven,  on  what  a  fall  of  bright  green  water! — that  it 
came  upon  me  in  its  full  might  and  majesty.  Then,  when  I  felt  how  near  to  my 


120  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

of  the  Falls  have  been  greatly  improved."  It  seems 
that  there  was  a  time,  fifty  years  ago,  when  man 
did  his  best  to  spoil  this  masterpiece  of  Nature,  by 
scattering  about  such  profanations  as  inns,  mills,  facto 
ries,  and  advertising  placards.  But  for  some  years 
past  public  authority  has  put  a  stop  to  this  vandalism, 
and  wise  legislation  has  extended  its  protection  over 
Niagara  in  a  similar  way  as  over  the  National  Park. 
There  are  still  in  the  vicinity,  though  not  along  the 
edge  of  the  Falls,  hotels,  restaurants,  and  souvenir- 
stores  ;  but  most  people  who  are  loud  in  complaint  of 
all  these  would  be  the  first  to  find  fault  if  such  con 
veniences  were  absent. 

A  part  of  the  immense  volume  of  water  at  the  Falls 
is  now  turned  aside  in  order  to  obtain  therefrom  some 
thousands  of  volts  of  electricity.  But  it  needs  a  vivid 
imagination  to  appreciate  the  harm  done  to  the  cataract 
by  diverting  its  water  in  so  slight  a  degree.  As  for  us, 
who  have  come  from  Buffalo  so  easily  and  rapidly, 
thanks  to  this  same  borrowed  force,  we  are  glad  to  find 
ourselves  in  some  sense  the  guests  of  Niagara,  and  to 
know  that  it  has  itself  brought  us  into  the  midst  of  all 
its  wonders.  I  am  quite  aware  that  were  it  not  for  the 
alarming  progress  of  industry,  with  its  black  boilers,  — 

Creator  I  was  standing,  the  first  effect,  and  the  enduring  one, —  instant  and  lasting, — 
of  the  tremendous  spectacle  was  Peace.  Peace  of  mind,  tranquillity,  calm  recollections 
of  the  dead,  great  thoughts  of  eternal  rest  and  happiness;  nothing  of  gloom  or  terror. 
Niagara  was  at  once  stamped  upon  my  heart,  an  image  of  beauty;  to  remain  there 
changeless  and  indelible  until  its  pulses  cease  to  beat  forever.  Oh,  how  the  strife  and 
trouble  of  daily  life  receded  from  my  view  and  lessened  in  the  distance,  during  the  ten 
memorable  days  we  passed  on  that  enchanted  ground!  What  voices  spoke  from  out 
the  thundering  water;  what  faces,  faded  from  the  earth,  looked  out  upon  me  from  its 
gleaming  depths;  what  heavenly  promise  glistened  in  those  angels'  tears,  the  drops  ot 
many  hues,  that  showered  around  and  twined  themselves  about  the  gorgeous  arches 
which  the  changing  rainbows  made!  " 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  121 

the  motive  power  of  the  transatlantic  steamers  and  rail 
ways, —  the  Ocean  would  still  guard  the  secret  of  its 
islands,  America  its  virgin  forest,  and  Niagara  its  wild 
solitude;  but  I  also  know  that  I  should  have  seen 
nothing  of  all  these  marvels,  and  many  who  now 
grumble  would  have  been  in  like  case.  At  the  same 
time,  one  cannot  forbear  asking  why  these  sublime 
souls  who  are  so  horrified  at  all  these  changes  conde 
scend  to  profit  by  them.  Who  hinders  them  from 
crossing  the  Atlantic  in  a  sail-boat,  passing  the  Adiron- 
dacks  through  regions  many  of  which  still  remain  track 
less,  and  traversing  on  foot  the  twenty  miles  that  sepa 
rate  Buffalo  from  Niagara  Falls  ?  Frankly  speaking, 
those  who  are  not  more  than  content  with  their  visit  to 
Niagara  have  really  too  complex  souls.  I  own  that 
for  my  part,  having  visited  in  the  afternoon  the  rapids 
and  the  magnificent  gorges  formed  by  the  foaming  tor 
rent  whose  boiling  waters  precipitate  themselves  into 
Lake  Ontario,  and  in  the  evening  stopping  again  to 
contemplate  the  immense  cataract,  almost  a  mile  in 
breadth  and  as  high  as  the  towers  of  Notre  Dame  de 
Paris,  I  experienced  to  the  full  that  emotion  which  a 
mighty  marvel  of  creation  is  capable  of  awakening  in 
the  heart  of  man. 

From  Buffalo  to  Chicago  one  may  have  choice  of 
several  routes.  I  was  told  that  as  good  a  road  as  any 
other  ran  along  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Erie, 
from  Buffalo  at  its  extreme  eastern  end  to  Toledo  at 
its  extreme  western  end,  a  distance  of  three  hundred 
miles,  and  gave  one  an  opportunity  to  visit  Lake 


122  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

Chautauqua,  a  famous  Summer  resort,  "  one  of  the 
greatest  in  the  world,"  of  course,  where  very  numer 
ously  attended  vacation  courses  of  study  are  held. 
Wishing  to  stop  at  South  Bend  for  a  call  upon  the 
University  of  Notre  Dame,  I  took  this  line  as  the 
most  convenient  for  my  plan. 

I  can  give  no  description  of  the  Lake  Erie  shore, 
as  I  traversed  it  by  night,  enjoying  the  luxury  of  a 
Pullman  car,  which  waited  at  Buffalo  until  the  New 
York  Express  should  pick  us  up  and  start  with  us  on 
a  night  ride  of  eleven  hours.  We  delayed  at  Toledo 
next  morning  only  long  enough  for  breakfast,  during 
which  our  obliging  colored  porter  transformed  our 
sleeping-place  into  an  elegant  salon.  Not  a  sign  of 
beds  or  berths  or  heavy  curtains  was  left,  and  we 
breathed  freely  in  a  fine  hall  sixty  feet  or  so  in  length 
and  ten  or  twelve  feet  high. 

Farther  and  farther  we  sped  from  the  Atlantic. 
We  had  to  set  our  watches  according  to  "central  time," 
an  hour's  difference  from  "  New  York  time."  And  as 
we  changed  locations,  we  changed  climate  also.  At 
Rochester  and  Buffalo,  the  heat  had  been  stifling,  even 
at  night.  But  here  the  temperature  was  delightful, 
almost  cold,  in  fact.  A  newspaper,  comparing  the 
Sahara  heat  of  northern  New  York  and  the  prema 
ture  snow-fall  in  Dakota,  exclaimed :  "  What  a 
fortunate  country  we  live  in,  where  one  can  have 
whatever  climate  best  pleases  him,  only  provided  one 
has  the  means  of  travelling!"  Just  then  we  were 
among  those  happy  mortals,  and  during  our  run 
through  Ohio  and  Indiana  were  enjoying  a  morning 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  123 

air  of  delicious  coolness,  while  elsewhere  peopie  were 
sweltering.  Ohio  and  Indiana,  —  fine  wild  names,  are 
they  not?  But  from  the  car- window  one  sees  more 
wheat-fields  than  virgin  forests,  and  more  sheep  than 
beasts  of  prey. 

We  arrived  in  South  Bend  an  hour  late.  Two 
new  students  for  the  University  rode  in  the  same  car 
riage  with  us  through  the  little  town.  Perhaps  I  am 
wrong  in  the  phrase  "  little  town,"  for  although  South 
Bend  has  hardly  more  than  twenty  thousand  inhabi 
tants,  it  is  nevertheless,  with  its  fine  stores,  remark 
ably  wide  avenues,  and  paved  streets,  like  the  beginning 
of  a  great  city.  Everything  looks  new  and  expectant. 
It  is  still,  however,  hardly  beyond  the  uncertainty  of  a 
"boom  town,"  of  which  there  have  been  many  exam 
ples  in  America.  One  could  not  assert  positively 
whether  South  Bend  will  disappear  or  whether  its  car 
riage  and  wagon  industry  will  raise  it  to  a  high  rank 
in  manufacturing.  Frequently  the  "boom  town" 
succeeds ;  when  it  fails,  the  land  reverts  to  the  cattle- 
raiser  and  the  farmer. 

The  streets  along  which  we  drove  toward  Notre 
Dame — muddy  enough  they  were  from  recent  rains  — 
lay  amid  a  fertile  and  monotonous  country.  The  two 
students  looked  glum,  as  though  putting  to  themselves 
the  question,  "  Into  what  miserable  kind  of  a  place  are 
they  taking  us,  anyhow?"  But  at  the  end  of  a  weary 
half-hour  we  caught  sight  of  the  beautiful  academic 
city,  its  varied  buildings  standing  out  picturesquely 
against  a  background  of  parks,  parterres,  wide  prairies, 
and  delightful  lakes.  Down  a  long  avenue  we  passed, 


124  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

between  high  trees  and  beds  of  flowers,  and  stopped 
at  the  central  building,  the  dome  of  which  brought  to 
mind  Val  de  Grace.  Near  by  was  a  church,  which  I 
took  for  a  cathedral.  After  a  cordial  greeting  from 
Father  Morissey,  the  President  of  the  University, 
Father  Zahm  appeared,  and  took  me  to  his  rooms, 
from  which  he  governs  the  American  province  of  the 
Holy  Cross  Congregation,  and  where  he  has  composed 
the  scientific  works  and  apologetics  which  have  made  his 
name  well  known  in  Europe  and  America. 

With  this  superior  man,  whose  faith  is  as  ardent 
as  his  knowledge  is  deep,  —  truly  one  of  the  influential 
priests  in  the  church  to-day,  —  I  spent  three  delightful 
days.  They  were  days  of  rest,  of  companionship,  and 
of  useful  conversation  upon  many  questions,  which, 
however,  always  led  back  to  the  central  theme  of 
religion.  Father  Zahm,  though  so  simple  a  man, 
seems  to  know  everybody  and  everything  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic.  He  is  in  correspondence  with 
learned  scientific  investigators  in  Europe,  the  most 
eminent  of  whom  he  has  visited  in  their  homes;  he 
has  not  only  cultivated  his  specialty,  the  natural 
sciences,  but  has  written  a  book  on  "  Evolution  and 
Dogma,"  and  he  is  devoted  to  Dante.  In  fact,  it  was 
under  his  roof,  in  this  little  corner  of  Indiana,  that 
I  found  the  most  numerous,  most  ancient,  most 
rare,  and  best  illustrated  editions  of  the  "Divina 
Commedia"  that  I  ever  saw.  Truly,  Father  Zahm 
is  a  scholar  and  at  the  same  time  a  missionary. 
He  is  a  man  of  action  as  well  as  of  thought. 


FATHER  ZAHM 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  125 

On  the  day  of  my  arrival,  he  was  entirely  taken  up 
with  the  matter  of  finding  places  in  the  different 
American  dioceses  for  several  of  the  exiled  French  nuns. 
And  as  for  his  official  duties,  it  is  certainly  no  sinecure 
to  rule  a  community  of  zealous  and  enterprising  reli 
gionists  scattered  throughout  America.  It  is  charac 
teristic  of  him  that  when  he  was  notified  in  Europe 
last  year  of  the  complete  destruction  by  fire  of  one  of 
the  Holy  Cross  colleges,  in  Austin,  Texas,  he  cabled 
in  reply  that  the  college  should  be  rebuilt  on  a  grander 
scale  in  time  for  the  following  Fall  opening.  This  was 
at  Easter  time;  and  in  August  the  building  was 
finished.1 

Beside  Father  Zahm,  I  met  many  interesting 
characters  at  Notre  Dame.  I  was  delighted  with 
Father  Fitte,  professor  of  philosophy,  a  Frenchman 
from  Metz,  one  of  whose  classes  I  attended  with  great 
pleasure.  Mr.  James  Edwards,  professor  of  history, 
loves  and  serves  Notre  Dame  as  the  best  patriot  does 
his  country.  He  is  librarian  of  the  institution,  and 
his  plan  is  to  make  Notre  Dame  a  great  depository 
of  religious  archives.  Finally,  I  must  give  special 
mention  to  Father  Hudson,  director  of  the  printing 
establishment,  and  editor  of  the  "  Ave  Maria/'  which, 
if  I  mistake  not,  is  the  most  widely  circulated  Catholic 
periodical  in  the  English  language.  It  is  wonderful 
how  this  gentle  and  winning  man,  in  his  country 
abode,  has  at  his  fingers'  ends  the  contemporary 
religious  history  of  the  world ;  even  such  facts  as  only 
the  initiated  few  are  supposed  to  know  are  familiar  to 

1  I  owe  to  the  suggestion  of  Father  Zahm  the  title  of  the  present  volume. 


126  THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE 

him.  And  his  vast  information  is  so  easily  grasped 
and  dexterously  handled  that  it  flows  with  charming 
ease  into  his  conversation ;  so  that  to  listen  to  him  is 
to  lose  all  sense  of  the  fleeting  hours. 

But  in  speaking  of  men,  we  must  not  forget  their 
works.  In  America  one  does  not  find  universities  that 
confine  themselves,  as  ours  do,  merely  to  higher  clas 
sical  education.  As  a  rule,  they  are  vast  institutions, 
which,  while  commonly  according  the  first  place  to 
letters,  law,  sciences,  and  medicine,  endeavor  also  to 
produce  engineers,  business  men,  mechanics,  agricul 
turists,  and  even  theologians.  The  University  of 
Notre  Dame  belongs  preeminently  to  this  complex 
type,  and  the  widest  variety  of  education  is  at  the  dis 
posal  of  its  nine  hundred  students.  Its  advanced 
course  comprises  four  departments:  letters,  sciences, 
law,  and  engineering.  Included  in  these  schools  are 
also  such  branches  as  pharmacy,  architecture,  business, 
and  journalism.  This  last,  which  sounds  strange  to  a 
Frenchman,  is  strictly  a  post-graduate  course;  it  is 
restricted  to  those  who  have  at  least  a  bachelor's 
degree.  The  young  journalist's  course  comprises 
political  economy,  history,  a  study  of  the  principal 
journals  of  other  countries,  and  the  laws  governing  the 
press,  the  writing  of  advertisements  and  head-lines, 
and  various  matters  touching  the  printer's  art.  The 
students  carry  out  their  practical  exercises  under  the 
direction  of  an  experienced  journalist,  and  from  time 
to  time  the  metropolitan  journals  of  the  neighboring 
city  of  Chicago  admit  these  efforts  to  their  columns, 
compensation  being  given  to  the  author  in  such  cases. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  127 

Of  course,  in  a  university  with  this  adjunct,  I  had  to 
be  interviewed.  The  outcome  was  no  more  inaccurate 
than  I  have  encountered  before,  and  shall  doubtless 
encounter  again.  I  suppose,  if  the  interview  was  a 
little  more  laborious  than  usual,  it  was  because  I  was 
set  upon  by  three  good-natured  torturers  at  once,  who 
took  down  my  remarks  each  according  to  the  needs  of 
the  particular  newspaper  he  represented.  Out  of  this 
cooperative  effort  appeared  one  article  especially  which 
went  the  round  of  (the  press,  giving  a  fairly  correct 
account  of  my  views  upon  the  religious  crisis  in 
France. 

The  collegiate  department,  which  begins  with  boys 
at  about  thirteen  and  leads  them  on  to  philosophy  or 
corresponding  branches,  is  like  our  secondary  educa 
tion.  It  leads  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  baccalaureate 
degrees  which  is  conferred  by  the  institution  itself. 
This  privilege  of  giving  degrees  is  granted  generously 
by  all  the  States  of  the  Union  to  important  educa 
tional  establishments.  Public  opinion  values  a  diploma 
according  to  the  repute  of  the  college  that  grants  it. 
This  is  a  sort  of  controlling  influence  upon  the  abuses 
to  which  so  liberal  a  State  system  might  readily  give 
rise.  Our  own  centralization  of  education  has  its 
abuses,  too,  which  impose  burdens  upon  the  public 
finances  and  restrict  the  rights  of  parents  and  teachers. 

At  Notre  Dame  there  is  a  Minim  department, 
which  consists  of  boys  from  six  to  thirteen  years  of 
age.  These  little  fellows  have  their  own  house,  St. 
Edward's  Hall,  and  also  their  own  chapel,  play-rooms, 
park,  and  field  for  outdoor  games.  There  are  about 


128  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

a  hundred  of  them,  and,  with  the  exception  of  three 
or  four  courses  reserved  to  the  University  professors, 
their  education  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Cross.  The  daily  routine  shows  an  almost 
maternal  solicitude  for  their  welfare.  At  least  once  a 
week  they  must  write  home. 

It  requires  only  a  brief  examination  of  the  dis 
cipline  of  Notre  Dame  to  bring  out  an  essential 
distinction  which  exists  between  English  and  American 
education  on  the  one  hand,  and  French  education  on 
the  other;  it  is  that  the  former  allows  more  free 
dom  to  collegians  and  less  to  advanced  students  than 
we  do.  Certainly  it  is  not  the  least  of  the  inconve 
niences  of  our  system  that  up  to  a  boy's  eighteenth  year 
we  deprive  him  of  all  initiative,  and  then  of  a  sudden 
fling  him  into  absolute  independence.  There  is  not 
one  boy  in  our  secondary  schools  who  would  not  feel 
like  an  escaped  prisoner  if  he  were  to  enter  Eton,  or 
an  American  college,  or  the  similar  school  in  France, 
the  Ecole  des  Roches.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is 
not  a  young  man  among  our  advanced  students  who 
would  not  feel  disgraced  if  he  were  asked  to  submit  to 
the  discipline  that  governs  the  graduates  of  Oxford, 
Harvard,  or  Notre  Dame.  Undoubtedly  surveillance 
ought  to  be  proportioned  to  the  age  of  the  student, 
but  it  is  unwise  to  make  ail  surveillance  odious  from 
the  very  beginning  by  irritating  restraints,  and  then 
when  a  boy's  dangers  are  greatest  to  leave  him  abso 
lutely  to  his  own  devices.  The  best  education  is  that 
which  is  nearest  to  life.  Now,  the  ideal  life  is  not  that 
of  the  barracks,  where  everything  is  done  by  order, 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  129 

nor  that  of  the  hotel,  where  caprice  holds  sway,  but 
that  of  the  family  and  the  home.  The  nearer  to  this 
ideal  a  college  stands,  the  better  it  is.  At  Notre  Dame 
I  was  pleased  to  see  two  fine  dormitories  with  separate 
rooms  for  the  students;  Sorin  Hall,  a  building  where 
the  older  boys  live,  and  which  has  accommodations  for 
a  hundred,  beside  containing  a  chapel,  reading-room, 
and  law  library ;  and  Corby  Hall,  which  has  room  for 
a  hundred  and  twenty-five  residents,  and  possesses  also 
its  own  chapel  and  recreation  rooms.  As  there  is 
abundance  of  ground  left  to  build  on,  and  as  there  are 
plenty  of  capable  professors  to  manage  new  develop 
ments,  this  system  of  separate  establishments  seems 
bound  to  grow  to  larger  proportions.  The  students' 
fees,  which  vary  from  seventy  to  a  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  yearly,  should  furnish  a  good  foundation  for 
such  a  growth. 

At  Notre  Dame,  difficulties  are  looked  upon  as 
things  to  be  conquered.  How  can  a  university  like 
this,  so  far  from  a  great  centre  of  population,  feed 
eight  hundred  mouths  ?  Oxford  can  do  it,  for  it  has 
an  entire  town  at  its  service;  but  how  can  Notre  Dame? 
We  are  answered  by  being  told  that  the  university  has 
telegraph  and  telephone  facilities ;  its  own  post-office, 
bakery,  slaughter-house,  refrigerator  and  cold-storage 
plant,  fishing-pond,  and  farms.  It  even  produces  its 
own  electricity.  And  as  for  modern  applications  of 
science  to  the  practical  needs  of  life,  from  scientific 
fuel  to  the  scientific  washing  of  clothes,  Notre  Dame 
is  the  place  to  see  them.  The  laundry  and  ironing 
rooms  are  a  marvel.  The  good  sisters  in  charge  have 


ijo  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

hardly  anything  more  to  do  than  keep  count  of  the 
linen  as  it  goes  into  the  vat  and  receive  it  when  it 
comes  from  the  laundry,  starched  and  stiff.  One  of 
them  was  complaining  to  Father  Zahm,  while  I  was  * 
present,  that  they  were  losing  all  the  merit  of  labor 
through  these  fine  inventions.  "Oh,"  said  he,  "we 
are  only  in  the  barbarian  stage  yet.  We  are  going  to 
keep  on  with  improvements  until  all  you  sisters  will 
have  to  do  will  be  to  sit  comfortably  in  a  rocking-chair 
and  look  benevolently  at  the  machine/' 

From  all  this  one  can  imagine  what  the  laboratories 
must  be,  chemical,  physical,  mechanical,  and  electrical ; 
and  the  museums  of  biology,  geology,  mineralogy, 
zoology,  and  botany,  not  omitting  the  astronom 
ical  observatory.  Everything  is  constructed  for  per 
manence  and  growth.  Since  1842,  and  in  America, 
that  has  no  remote  antiquity,  the  progress  has  gone  on 
without  danger  or  embarrassment.  No  graver  misfor 
tune  has  happened  than  an  occasional  fire,  which  has 
simply  meant  rebuilding  and  refurnishing  on  a  grander 
scale.  There  has  been  no  fear,  and  there  need  be  none, 
of  interference  and  oppression  from  the  State.  Such  a 
tyranny  will  be  impossible  until  the  national  character 
of  America  changes  through  and  through.  We  in 
France  have  no  security  like  this.  And  so  when  a 
rector  at  Paris  complains  because  so  little  is  given  to 
his  university  he  forgets  that  people  are  withheld  from 
contributing  by  the  inevitable  question,  "What  will 
become  of  this  money  if  to-morrow  the  always  possible 
revolution  breaks  out?"  Or,  "Will  the  Government 
permit  the  universities  to  retain  it?"  This  is  why 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  131 

our  great  schools  have  not  the  revenues  received  by 
the  colleges  of  the  United  States.  Notre  Dame  can 
ask  for  money  with  perfect  assurance;  the  donations 
made  now  will  still  bear  fruit  two  or  three  centuries 
hence,  and  will  never  be  taken  away  by  tyranny  of 
any  sort. 

Bishop's  Memorial  Hall  is  interesting  for  its  busts 
and  portraits  of  famous  prelates.  Other  illustrious 
dead  also  are  here.  In  1886  the  remains  of  the 
glorious  convert  and  copious  wtiter,  Orestes  A. 
Brownson,  were  brought  hither,  and  buried  by  the 
side  of  the  early  missionaries  in  the  splendid  Church 
of  the  Sacred  Heart. 

The  future  belongs  to  the  free.  Near  the  univer 
sity  are  a  seminary  and  a  novitiate  training  up  future 
masters.  I  shall  never  forget  the  affectionate  welcome 
given  me  by  the  seminarians  and  novices.  Among  the 
scholastics,  I  beheld  a  little  group  of  sorrowful-looking 
young  Frenchmen  just  arrived  in  America  and  unable 
to  speak  a  word  of  English,  who  seemed  to  be  asking 
themselves  anxiously  if  here  at  last  they  would  be  per 
mitted  to  consecrate  themselves  to  God.  In  recognition 
of  the  country  of  its  origin,  the  Holy  Cross  Congre 
gation,  which  counts  in  America  three  hundred  and 
seventy-two  members,  —  more  than  half  of  its  entire 
number, —  elected  again  at  its  last  chapter  a  French 
Superior  General.  He  has  since  been  exiled. 

A  mile  or  two  from  Notre  Dame  is  the  mother- 
house  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  where  novices 
are  trained  who  will  later  assist  in  the  colleges,  or  will 
themselves  conduct  schools  and  academies  for  girls. 


132  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Here,  beside  the  novitiate,  is  St.  Mary's  Academy, 
which  has  enjoyed  half  a  century  of  celebrity,  and  which, 
by  availing  itself  of  the  advantage  of  the  neighboring 
University,  was,  I  think,  the  first  Catholic  institution 
to  give  the  benefit  of  the  higher  branches  to  young 
women.  To-day,  with  Trinity  of  Washington  and 
Notre  Dame  of  Maryland — to  speak  only  of  the 
establishments  I  myself  visited — it  proves  by  its 
splendid  success  how  capable  the  Church  in  America 
is  to  perceive  and  to  adopt  such  new  departures  as  are 
useful  and  good. 

Before  saying  farewell  to  Notre  Dame,  this  great 
centre  of  religious  and  intellectual  life,  I  find  it  consol 
ing  to  reflect  that  the  existence  of  the  institution,  and 
of  many  other  useful  foundations  as  well,  is  due  to  the 
zeal  of  our  missionaries  from  France.  Father  Edward 
Sorin,  of  the  little  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
left  Le  Mans  on  the  fth  and  Havre  on  the  8th  of 
August,  1841,  with  four  Brothers  and  two  novices. 
On  the  1 4th  of  September,  after  a  month's  voy 
age,  not  as  a  cabin  passenger,  but  in  the  steerage,  he 
landed  in  New  York,  and,  as  he  wrote  to  his  superior, 
"kissed  with  joy  the  soil  of  America  for  which  he  had 
sighed  so  ardently."  On  the  26th  of  November,  1 842, 
one  year  later,  he  settled  where  to-day  rise  the  towers 
and  domes  of  Notre  Dame.  Here  he  wished,  with 
God's  assistance,  to  found  a  great  college.  Indians 
then  roamed  the  country,  and  were  its  sole  inhabitants. 
Some  missionaries  had  previously  passed  through,  how 
ever,  and  left  behind  a  cabin  crowned  with  a  cross. 
Father  Sorin,  on  his  arrival,  looked  upon  a  clearing 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  133 

covered  with  snow,  two  lakes  frozen  solid,  and,  encom 
passing  all,  a  circle  of  unbroken  forest.  But  there 
were  resources.  One  who  was  a  little  better  off  than 
Father  Sorin,  Mgr.  Hailandiere,  Bishop  of  Vincennes, 
to  whose  jurisdiction  this  mission  belonged,  wrote  him 
the  following  significant  note:  "  My  dear  confrere^  you 
will  find  enclosed,  instead  of  the  three  hundred  and 
ten  dollars  which  you  asked  of  me,  a  letter  of  credit 
on  M.  N.  for  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  dollars, 
twelve  and  a  half  cents.  I  think  this  is  what  he  still 
owes  me.  Don't  forget  that  the  taxes  on  the  Lake 
property  have  not  been  paid  for  this  year.  My  hopes 
keep  pace  with  my  wishes."  How  fortunate  that  the 
faith  and  courage  of  the  missionary  were  equally  great ! 
Thus,  of  all  that  I  saw  at  Notre  Dame  there  was 
not  a  sign  sixty  years  ago.  Within  a  hundred  miles  of 
the  desert-place  of  that  day  was  a  little  city  of  6,690 
souls.  It  has  gained  renown  since  then,  and  I  must 
pay  it  a  visit. 


i34  IN   THE   LAND   OF 


CHAPTER  VII 
CHICAGO 

My  Fellow-Travellers. —  Immensity  of  Chicago. —  Solitude  and 
Business. — In  a  Church  of  Colored  Baptists. — Beauty  and 
Ugliness. — The  Two  Chlcagos.- — Visit  to  a  Public  School. — 
A  Great  Bookstore. —  Hospitality  and  Charm. — Hull  House 
and  Settlement-Workers. —  Chicago's  Wonderful  History. — 
The  City  of  the  Future. 

*  I  ^HE  two  or  three  hours  spent  on  the  train  between 
South  Bend  and  Chicago  were  not  without  interest. 
True,  the  country  traversed  exhibited  nothing  particu 
larly  striking  until  we  neared  Lake  Michigan ;  but  I 
found  compensation  in  studying  my  fellow-passengers. 
There  are  at  least  sixty  in  our  car,  which  is  almost  full. 
The  majority  are  girls,  rather  fashionable-looking,  who 
are  travelling  alone  or  two  by  two.  One,  sitting  beside 
me,  is  reading  a  translation  of  "  Electra"  ;  on  her  lap 
is  Lessing's  "  Laocoon."  Others,  less  formidable,  seem 
trying  to  beat  one  another  chatting,  yet  in  a  subdued 
tone  of  voice. 

We  are  on  an  "accommodation"  train;  at  every 
stop  new  passengers  enter,  and  soon  all  the  seats  are 
taken.  I  surrender  mine  to  a  woman,  and,  seeking  a 
place  on  the  platform,  am  soon  deep  in  conversation 
with  a  Chicago  tradesman.  He  is  a  German,  native  of 
Cologne.  About  1880  he  came  to  America,  and  has 
succeeded  so  well  in  business  here  that  he  has  no  desire 
to  leave.  That  does  not  hinder  him,  however,  from 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  135 

speaking  very  severely  of  the  city  of  his  adoption. 
"  Chicago,"  he  said,  "  has  magnificent  parks,  boule 
vards,  and  residences ;  but  the  greater  part  of  it  is  dirty 
to  a  disgusting  degree.  One  would  think  that  with 
the  twenty  millions  of  dollars  that  we  pay  in  taxes  every 
year,  the  city  would  be  able  to  present  a  clean  and 
respectable  appearance ;  but  three-fourths  of  the  money 
goes  right  into  the  pockets  of  the  unscrupulous  poli 
ticians  who  are  keeping  a  tight  hold  on  the  city  govern 
ment.  But  of  course  they  have  to  satisfy  their  followers ; 
and  how  else  can  they  be  reimbursed  for  their  heavy 
election  expenses?  Democrats  or  Republicans,  one  lot 
is  as  bad  as  the  other;  it  is  not  worth  while  to  turn  the 
rascals  out  —  their  successors  would  be  worse.  In  this 
country,  everyone  bends  the  knee  in  worship  of  the 
Almighty  Dollar."  And  in  fact,  this  severe  critic  seems 
as  devout  a  worshipper  as  the  rest ;  if  the  country  is 
so  disagreeable  to  him,  why,  except  for  his  pecuniary 
interests,  does  n't  he  quit  it  for  good?  Beside,  it  is 
easy  enough  to  see  that  a  city  which  has  increased  a  mil 
lion  inhabitants  in  the  last  two  decades  can  hardly  have 
everything  in  apple-pie  order;  no  wonder  certain  streets 
are  still  unswept,  unmacadamized,  unpaved.  If  you 
add  to  the  tirade  of  my  German  friend  all  that  I  had  heard 
of (f  the  city  of  pork-packers  "  in  Europe  and  Canada, 
you  will  understand  that  I  entered  it  without  much 
prepossession  in  its  favor.  Some  good  people,  indeed, 
had  whispered  into  my  ear  that  no  one  who  had  the 
faintest  love  of  beauty  or  retained  more  than  a  shred 
of  moral  sense  would  willingly  set  foot  on  the  streets 
of  Chicago. 


136  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Were  it  not  for  the  gracious  welcome  extended  to 
me  on  my  arrival  by  Father  Riordan,  pastor  of  St. 
Elizabeth's  Church  and  brother  of  the  Archbishop  of 
San  Francisco,  my  first  impressions,  indeed,  would  not 
have  been  of  the  happiest.  Alighting  at  the  Thirty- 
first  Street  station  of  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad,  I  was 
brought  by  my  host  to  Wabash  Avenue,  one  of  the 
most  important  of  the  city's  thoroughfares.  One  might 
call  it,  in  this  section,  the  dividing  line  between  a  quar 
ter  that  is  wealthy,  elegant,  and  finished,  and  another 
still  in  construction,  where  shabby  frame-houses  elbow 
palaces,  and  factories  alternate  with  -unkempt  prairies. 
North  or  south,  the  street,  avenue,  boulevard — which 
ever  you  will  —  continues  in  a  straight  line  till  lost  from 
view.  Wabash  Avenue,  however,  cannot  be  compared 
in  length  with  Western  Avenue,  which  is  twenty-two 
miles  long,  and  has  a  width  in  some  places  of  about 
two  hundred  feet.  Distances  here,  in  fact,  are  somewhat 
disconcerting.  I  inquire  of  Father  Riordan  if  I  can 
visit  a  certain  house  before  nightfall;  I  show  him  the 
address,  and  he  replies  that  the  place  is  twelve  miles 
away.  On  one  of  my  letters  of  introduction,  he 
notices  the  address  of  a  person  living  a  little  nearer 
We  go  to  the  house  together;  but  how  could  I  ever 
hope  to  find  it  alone  ?  No  number  is  to  be  seen  ;  the 
one  on  the  envelope,  however,  is  not  useless,  for  at 
least  it  indicates  the  block  in  which  the  house  is  situ 
ated,  each  block  beginning  with  the  even  hundred, 
though  it  may  contain  only  a  few  houses.  We  rap  and 
ring  the  bell  at  every  door  of  the  house  where  I  ex- 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  137 

pected  to  find  Mr.  X.  Not  a  soul  answers;  not  a 
porter  or  servant  is  in  the  house,  although  it  is  quite  a 
large  mansion.  The  family  evidently  are  in  the  coun 
try,  and  we  have  had  our  long  journey  for  nothing. 
Were  it  not  for  the  trolley  cars  and  the  telephone, 
which  one  finds  everywhere,  American  cities  would  be 
uninhabitable  or  would  appear  deserted.  What  would 
be  thought  if  I  said  that  one  of  the  features  of  Chicago 
is  that  there  is  nobody  on  foot  in  the  streets?  The 
descriptions  of  all  other  travellers  would  be  arrayed 
against  me;  and  their  testimony  would  no  doubt  be 
valid  as  to  the  business  district.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
no  corner  of  the  globe  is  more  crowded  than  the  centre 
of  Chicago, —  and  we  may  add,  of  New  York, — with 
human  beings  on  foot,  in  automobiles,  on  bicycles,  in 
trolley  cars,  or  crowded,  thousands  upon  thousands,  in 
the  gigantic  stores  and  office  buildings.  But  in  the 
evening  they  begin  to  disperse,  and  each  seeks  a  quiet 
nook  as  far  away  as  possible  from  this  agglomeration. 
When  two  millions  of  people  are  all  looking  for  tranquil 
spots,  the  immense  stretch  of  land  required  to  satisfy 
everyone,  and  the  desert-like  aspect  of  the  outlying 
districts,  can  be  imagined. 

After  mass  the  next  morning,  at  which  I  gave  com 
munion  for  a  full  quarter  of  an  hour,  I  started  off  to 
assist  at  services  in  a  Catholic  church  for  colored  peo 
ple.  It  is  so  near  the  rectory  that  I  decline  the  aid  of 
a  guide.  Soon,  however,  without  perceiving  it,  I  have 
passed  the  little  chapel  I  am  seeking,  and  am  in  front 


i38  IN   THE   LAND   OF 

of  a  large  church  toward  which  many  negroes  are  direct 
ing  their  steps.  We  are  in  a  negro  quarter ;  that  is 
plain.  It  was  not  so  in  former  times, —  which  means 
here,  about  three  years  ago.  The  arrival  of  the  blacks 
gives  the  signal  to  the  whites  to  depart.  A  strange  and 
cruel  prejudice  I  would  have  thought  it  before  my  visit 
to  America ;  to-day  the  question,  to  which  I  shall  return, 
appears  different  and  more  complex.  Even  the  most 
humble  and  most  friendly  Catholics  find  it  only  natural 
to  build  separate  churches  for  colored  people.  Bishop 
Spalding,  while  he  was  still  a  young  curate  at  Louisville, 
and  wished  to  devote  himself  to  mission  work  among 
the  negroes,  established  and  managed  a  special  parish 
for  them.  The  idea  never  seems  to  have  occurred 
to  him  (or  it  would  have  been  impracticable)  to  found 
special  works  for  them  in  the  local  parish.  Even  with 
the  best  disposition  and  the  greatest  mutual  good-will, 
it  is  a  fact  that  blacks  and  whites  cannot  mingle  habit 
ually,  either  at  church  or  at  school,  in  the  hotels,  or 
even  in  the  same  neighborhood.  It  need  hardly  be 
said  that  this  separate  tendency  is  not  peculiar  to 
Catholics,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  negro  of  whom  I  ask  the  name  of  the  church 
at  which  I  have  just  arrived  informs  me  that  it  is  a 
Baptist  church.  He  adds  that  services  will  not  begin 
for  some  time  yet,  and  offers  to  lead  me  to  the  Sunday 
school,  which  is  in  session  next  door.  I  take  advantage 
of  my  mistake  to  learn  something,  and  follow  my  guide. 
He  shows  me  into  a  rather  long,  low  hall,  where  many 
children  and  some  adults  are  singing  hymns  to  the 
tune  of  a  merry-go-round.  The  music  over,  a  colored 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  139 

minister  tells  how  happy  he  is  to  be  present,  and  what 
a  fine  school  they  have ;  then  more  music.  Next,  a 
white  woman  tells  what  a  fine  school  they  have,  and  how 
happy  she  is  to  be  present;  then  music  again,  and  all 
is  over.  I  leave  the  Sunday  school  without  having 
learned  much,  I  fear ,  but  perhaps  it  is  not  always  con 
ducted  in  this  manner. 

I  return  to  the  church.  The  services  begin,  two 
white  women  and  two  colored  men  leading  the 
singing.  It  would  be  unkind  to  speak  ill  of  it.  Seated 
in  a  little  corner  near  the  entrance,  I  watch  the  men  and 
women  while  they  join  in  their  devotions,  and  I  become 
very  sad  on  feeling  myself  so  remote  from  all  those 
souls.  Never  before  have  I  assisted  at  a  negro  service, 
nor  been  in  a  Baptist  church.  What  takes  place  within 
their  souls?  Doubtless  we  adore  the  same  God;  but 
what  barriers  lie  between  us  nevertheless !  If  I  had 
the  time,  I  should  like  to  know  these  people  a  little 
better,  to  come  in  touch  with  them.  Nor  would  it  be 
impossible.  At  this  moment,  some  one  on  the  plat 
form,  seeing  my  clerical  costume,  has  graciously  invited 
me  to  come  forward.  Will  I  advance,  and  after  they 
have  finished  accept  an  invitation  to  speak?  But  they 
are  waiting  for  me  at  the  Rectory,  and  probably  I 
shall  not  be  able  to  remain  to  the  end.  This  is  my 
excuse,  and  a  sincere  one,  which  they  accept.  Beside, 
as  a  Catholic  priest,  I  do  not  wish  to  find  myself  taking 
part  in  ceremonies  of  which  I  am  ignorant.  What,  for 
instance,  is  this  negro,  just  rising,  —  a  minister,  proba 
bly, — about  to  do,  while  the  audience  bow  their  heads  ? 
In  a  loud  voice,  at  times  even  crying  out,  he  is  invoking 


1 40  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  some  of  the  faith 
ful,  here  and  there,  at  unexpected  moments,  betray 
their  emotion  by  sighs  or  groans  or  mutterings.  It  is 
a  strange  scene  surely,  and  one  which  might  excite  ridi 
cule  in  the  ill-disposed;  but  their  sincerity,  on  the 
contrary,  touches  me,  and  I  feel  sure  that  God,  who 
looks  into  their  hearts,  is  pleased  with  their  simple 
devotion.  I  regret  all  the  more  that  lack  of  leisure 
prevents  me  from  penetrating  further  into  this  unknown 
world;  but  it  is  time  to  go,  and  in  a  dreamy,  uneasy 
frame  of  mind,  I  quit  the  church,  just  as  the  colored 
congregation  are  beginning  a  new  hymn. 

At  the  Rectory  I  find  some  friends  of  Bishop  Spald- 
ing  and  Father  Riordan,  who  plan  an  outing  for  me  in 
town  for  the  afternoon.  When  they  return,  at  two 
o'clock,  I  ask  if  we  cannot  go  first  to  see  a  parade  that 
is  about  to  be  given  by  the  Germans  in  honor  of  the 
new  Archbishop,  Monseigneur  Quigley.  We  are  already 
too  late,  I  am  told,  as  the  place  of  the  parade  is  nine 
miles  distant.  That  brings  me  back  again  to  the  realiz 
ation  of  Chicago's  immensity.  For  five  hours  we  drive 
behind  two  fine  trotting  horses,  with  hardly  a  stop,  and 
at  the  end  have  seen  only  one  section  of  the  city.  So 
pleasant  are  both  trip  and  company  that  I  do  not  feel  the 
time  passing.  We  started  only  a  few  minutes  ago,  and 
now  we  are  driving  "  down  town,"  through  avenues 
adorned  with  magnificent  residences,  each  placed  amid 
lawns  and  flower-beds.  Some  of  the  buildings,  it  is 
true,  are  rather  fantastic,  but  the  majority,  I  must  say, 
despite  the  current  prejudices  to  the  contrary,  are  in 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  141 

perfect  taste.  Only  the  avenue  of  the  Bois  de  Bou 
logne  in  Paris,  or  the  outskirts  of  Hyde  Park  in  Lon 
don,  surpass  the  avenues  I  here  traverse;  and,  for 
that  matter,  we  are  about  to  see  one  or  two  boulevards 
fully  equal  to  those  just  named.  The  architects  of  the 
United  States  have  made  wonderful  progress  of  late ; 
and  we  are  the  readier  to  acknowledge  this,  since  many 
of  them  have  studied  at  our  School  of  Fine  Arts.  I  am 
thinking  of  their  good  taste  when  I  say  this ;  as  to 
their  technical  knowledge,  it  certainly  is  not  slight,  if 
it  is  they,  though  probably  it  is  the  civil  engineers, 
who  have  charge  of  house-moving.  We  pass  before  a 
large  church  which  was  moved  to  its  present  location 
some  years  ago. 

Now  the  aspect  of  the  buildings  changes,  and  shops 
and  houses  are  rather  interesting  till  we  reach  the  busi 
ness  centre.  As  this  is  Sunday,  the  bee-hive  is  closed ; 
no  buzzing  noise,  scarcely  a  stir;  the  bees  are  on  holi 
day,  winging  hither  and  thither  on  the  lawns  of  the 
parks.  Before  us  is  the  Auditorium,  a  fair  example 
of  an  American  hotel,  too  rich,  too  large,  but  at  the 
same  time  pleasant  and  quiet,  —  yes,  quiet  for  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  its  peaceful  recesses.  You 
may  take  your  afternoon  nap  there,  undisturbed,  in 
the  corner  of  some  oriental  alcove;  you  may,  if  you 
like,  give  a  concert  there,  or  listen  to  one,  or  lecture, 
in  a  hall  that  seats  four  thousand  people.  We  take  an 
express  elevator  which  carries  us  up  seventeen  stories, 
to  the  beginning  of  the  tower,  without  a  stop.  We 
climb  fifty  steps  or  so  higher,  and  overlook  Chicago. 
Below  us  are  some  pygmy  buildings  of  eight  or  ten 


142  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

stones ;  farther  off,  piercing  the  sky,  are  the  Masonic 
Temple,  some  banks,  and  an  immense  department 
store  that  would  easily  contain  the  Louvre  and  the 
Bon  Marche  of  Paris  put  together.  To  the  west,  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  see,  is  a  dizzy  stretch  of  houses. 
To  the  east,  and  nearer  us,  is  Lake  Michigan ;  but 
what  a  hideous  jumble  of  warehouses  and  tracks  and 
depots  between  us  and  the  blue  waters,  hiding  them 
from  our  eyes !  What  a  disappointment  it  must  be  to 
a  European  who  settles  down  for  a  stay  in  this  neigh 
borhood  of  elegant  hotels,  close  to  the  great  lake,  and 
can  see  only  its  grimy  approaches !  May  he  do  as 
we  did,  on  quitting  the  high  tower, —  namely,  drive 
through  the  enchanting  parks,  where  Chicago,  Sunday 
after  Sunday,  pours  out  its  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
working-people  along  the  rich  lawns,  or  under  shady 
trees  that  date  from  yesterday,  but  seem  ages  old,  or 
by  the  side  of  pier  or  beach  where  one  may  stop  and 
listen  to  the  beating  surf  of  that  vast  inland  sea.  It 
is  possible,  without  crossing  the  limits  of  the  city,  to 
drive  sixty-six  miles  through  its  various  parks.  What 
traveller  will  brave  all  prejudice,  and  be  the  first  to  tell 
the  world  that  there  are  very  few  cities  uniting  as  much 
loveliness  in  their  parks,  their  avenues,  and  their  boule 
vards,  as  this  prosaic  city  of  Chicago  ?  I  would  be  the 
second  to  such  a  one;  and  I  would  add  that  I  have 
hardly  seen  anywhere  else  so  many  people  praying  in 
the  churches,  or  visiting  the  museums  and  galleries,  or 
reading  in  the  libraries.  "What!  Is  this  indeed 
Chicago, —  beautiful,  devout,  aesthetic,  intellectual? 
It  cannot  be.  Chicago  means  business  and  material- 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  143 

ism;  slaughter-houses  and  pork-packers."  What  can 
be  answered  to  that  ? 

That  side  exists,  too,  I  know ;  there  is  no  soul  with 
out  a  body.  To-morrow  the  body  will  be  seen ;  to-day, 
on  this  happy  Sunday  afternoon,  only  the  soul  appears. 
Scarcely  feeling  the  journey  from  Lincoln  Park  and  the 
Lake  Shore  Drive  on  the  North,  through  Michigan  and 
Drexel  Boulevards,  we  have  come  to  Washington  and 
Jackson  Parks  on  the  South  Side.  Here  we  are  near 
the  handsome  university  to  which  Mr.  Rockefeller's 
millions  have  piped  the  Pierian  springs ;  near  also  to 
the  relics  of  the  Columbian  Exposition,  which  consist, 
happily,  far  more  in  pleasure-gardens  than  in  ginger 
bread  palaces.  It  is  evening;  the  air  is  refreshing  and 
invigorating ;  the  serene  heavens,  unobscured  by  even 
the  most  delicate  veil  of  smoke,  shine  with  a  clearness 
worthy  of  mountainous  climes.  What  is  this  unknown 
charm  in  the  air,  felt  in  every  living  creature  around 
me?  They  tell  me,  and  later  I  begin  to  understand  it 
better,  as  it  will  be  my  good  fortune  to  enjoy  it  some 
time  longer:  it  is  a  foretaste  of  the  Indian  Summer, 
that  delightful  but  brief  season  which,  every  year 
toward  the  middle  of  Autumn,  scatters  joy  through 
the  Eastern  and  Middle  States ;  it  is  dry  but  not  dusty, 
warm  without  being  oppressive,  cool  yet  with  no  touch 
of  frost;  an  African  sky  above  a  land  that  is  as  pleasant 
as  France. 

A  few  stars  have  already  risen  when  I  return  to  my 
indulgent  host.  After  supper  we  go  to  visit  a  convent 
which  has  not  less  than  a  hundred  professed  sisters  and 
novices,  from  which  one  may  infer  that  the  number  of 


144  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

pupils  is  very  great.  I  cannot  help  admiring  the 
spacious  structure,  and  especially  the  magnificent 
chapel.  We  find  the  community  engaged  in  recrea 
tion,  celebrating  some  feast  of  the  convent ;  everything 
is  full  of  dignity  and  quietness.  Only  one  sad  note  is 
heard :  it  is  when,  with  the  solicitude  of  sisters,  they 
ask  about  the  religious  orders  of  France.  Here  every 
thing  goes  on  so  well.  It  is  known  that  Chicago, 
which  yesterday  did  not  exist,  has  now  a  million  Catho 
lics,  almost  all  practical,  and  one  hundred  and  forty 
flourishing  parishes — more  than  double  the  number 
of  Paris. 

Things  move  in  Chicago.  I  believe  myself  that  I 
have  not  lost  any  time,  for  now  that  my  day  is  over 
I  feel  what  a  crowded  one  it  has  been.  And  yet  I 
have  forgotten  to  state  that  on  leaving  the  convent  we 
went  to  spend  the  rest  of  the  evening  with  a  lawyer  of 
the  neighborhood;  and  that  we  found  there,  in  the 
refined  surroundings  of  this  Chicago  home,  as  much 
charm,  good  taste,  and  distinction  of  manner  as  one 
would  expect  to  find  in  the  old  cultured  cities  of 
Europe,  in  Stockholm  or  Nancy  or  Florence. 

Yesterday  it  was  Florence :  to-day  the  Stock- Yards ! 
It  is  planned  that  in  the  morning  I  shall  go  to  visit  the 
packing-houses,  from  which  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
heads  of  beef  and  pork  and  mutton  are  daily  distributed 
over  the  globe.  I  will  not  attempt,  after  the  efforts  of 
Paul  Bourget  and  other  exquisite  artists,  to  describe  the 
minutiae  of  the  Chicago  slaughter-houses.  ...  I  draw 
some  comfort  from  the  idea  that  if  thousands  of  dumb 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  145 

creatures  must  be  sacrificed  daily  to  supply  our  needs, 
it  is  there  done  with  as  little  cruelty  as  possible. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  after  quitting  the  Stock-Yards, 
I  find  myself,  by  a  happy  contrast,  in  a  really  delightful 
primary  public  school.  There  is  no  bigotry  dominat 
ing  within  its  walls,  for  many  Catholics  are  chosen  as 
teachers.  The  instruction,  of  course,  is  not  denomina 
tional;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  irreligious, —  far 
from  it,  for  here  all  the  truths  and  worship  common  to 
Christian  churches  may  be  freely  honored.  No  one 
is  surprised  to  see  two  Catholic  priests  visit  the  classes ; 
and  it  would  be  difficult  for  us  to  judge,  from  the  wel 
come  we  receive,  whether  any  little  boy  or  girl,  or  even 
the  teacher,  is  a  Catholic  or  not.  Once,  indeed,  a 
photograph  of  the  Madonna  di  Grand  Duca  attracted 
the  attention  of  an  inspector,  who  feared  that  it  might 
offend  certain  Protestants ;  but  he  soon  recognized 
that  a  masterpiece  of  art  is  in  place  everywhere.  It  is 
well  known  that  Catholics,  dissatisfied  with  this  reli 
gious  neutrality,  sincere  though  it  may  be,  erect  free 
schools  by  the  side  of  nearly  every  church;  and  the 
State,  happy  to  be  relieved  of  part  of  its  burden,  looks 
favorably  on  the  work.  Though  the  parish  of  St. 
Elizabeth  is  relatively  small,  I  visited  there  a  school 
where  thirteen  Sisters  of  Mercy  instruct  365  girls  and 
247  boys.  In  the  diocese  of  Chicago,  with  its  million 
of  Catholics,  93,388  children  are  being  educated  under 
Catholic  care. 

Many  other  memories  still  linger  with  me,  of 
the  luxuriously  furnished  banks,  the  mammoth  stores, 
the  masses  of  people,  the  overcrowded  cars,  the  sixty 


146  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

railroad  lines  which,  with  mighty  rumbling,  cross  one 
another  on  the  elevated  tracks  or  run  along  the  streets 
with  little  regard  to  passers-by.  This  is  the  Chicago 
known  to  the  whole  world ;  what  need  to  speak  of  it  ? 
One  evening  Father  Riordan  took  me  to  dine 
with  a  family  who  are  friends  of  his,  —  and,  seeing 
the  sympathies  and  ideas  we  share  in  common,  I  may 
add,  of  mine  also.  Nowhere  have  I  found  a  more 
charming  or  more  cordial  welcome.  I  may  remark,  in 
passing,  that  the  American,  as  a  rule,  is  fully  as  gener 
ous  in  his  hospitality  as  the  Englishman,  and  tenders 
it  with  a  more  happy  and  cheerful  grace ;  uniting  the 
seriousness  of  the  North  with  the  gay  manner  of  the 
South.  It  is  this  happy  and  cheerful  spirit  that  pre 
sides  at  our  dinner.  The  repast  ended,  we  seat  our 
selves,  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  on  the  white-columned 
veranda,  where  we  can  breathe  the  fragrant  air  of  the 
garden  as  one  might  do  in  a  Tuscan  villa.  The  con 
versation  moves  merrily  along,  all  the  members  of  this 
pleasant  family  taking  part;  the  father's  entertaining 
talk  showing  that  the  successful  practice  of  a  profession 
need  not  absorb  all  one's  intellectual  energy,  the  equally 
interesting  wife  and  sister-in-law  and  children  proving 
worthy  members  of  such  a  family  circle.  Uncon 
sciously  they  are  giving  me  a  delightful  picture  of 
American  life,  such  as  is  not  often  drawn  by  the  popu 
lar  novelists,  who  seek  their  characters  in  the  fashionable 
watering-places  and  other  resorts  of  the  gay  world.  Our 
conversation  discloses  such  a  community  of  ideas,  of 
views,  of  tastes,  as  I,  a  stranger,  had  no  right  to  expect. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  147 

An  exchange  of  news,  of  bits  of  information,  follows 
our  discussions.  In  return  for  what  I  tell  them  about 
Paris,  about  Europe,  I  learn  something  of  America 
and  of  Chicago.  They  tell  me,  in  particular,  about 
Hull  House. 

Hull  House  is  a  "  settlement,"  that  is,  a  centre  in 
one  of  the  poor  quarters  of  a  large  city,  where  people 
of  the  better  class  take  up  their  residence  in  order  to 
get  into  closer  touch  with  their  less  fortunate  brothers, 
and  be  able  to  render  them  the  greatest  possible  help. 
Paris  and  London  have  seen  admirable  efforts  of  this 
sort:  who  does  not  know,  for  instance,  the  names  of 
Popincourt  and  Toynbee  Hall  ?  The  establishment 
of  Hull  House  dates  from  1889,  and  since  then  its 
example  has  been  followed  throughout  America.  In 
1895  there  were  no  more  than  twenty  of  these  settle 
ments  ;  now  they  are  counted  by  the  hundred.  But 
the  pioneer  settlement  of  Chicago  is  still  the  most 
prominent,  owing  as  much  to  the  superior  character  and 
ability  of  its  foundress,  Miss  Jane  Addams,  who  is 
still  the  soul  of  Hull  House,  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
misery  which  it  relieves. 

Is  it  then  true  that  America  has  its  poor  and  unfor 
tunate  class  ?  Undoubtedly;  it  has  those  whom  Europe 
sends  to  it,  and  they  are  numerous  in  all  the  large  cities, 
especially  in  New  York  and  Chicago.  More  than  half 
the  people  of  Chicago  were  born  in  the  Old  World, 
principally  Germany,  Italy,  Russia,  and  Austria- 
Hungary.  One  Bohemian  district  of  Chicago  would 


i48  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

equal,    for    example,    the    third    city   of  Bohemia    in 
population. 

Imagine  a  million  foreigners,  a  large  proportion 
ignorant  of  the  language  of  the  country,  landing 
in  America  with  an  average  fortune  of  twenty  dol 
lars  each,  and  all  settling  in  one  of  the  worst  quarters 
of  this  immense  city.  Does  it  not  seem  as  if  evils, 
like  everything  else,  must  be  on  a  grand  scale  here? 
But  the  remedy  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  evil, 
and  that  remedy  is  the  charity  of  American  women. 
Many  of  these  newcomers  in  their  strange  surround 
ings  need  a  helping  hand;  and  America  shows  the 
spectacle  of  society  women  relieving  their  most  press 
ing  wants,  sending  the  sick  to  hospitals,  procuring 
employment  for  adults,  gathering  together  little  chil 
dren,  attracting,  softening,  civilizing  all  these  poor  bar 
barians.  Such  is  the  object  of  most  of  those  women's 
clubs  which  we  in  France  ridicule,  judging  them  by 
peculiar  and  exceptional  cases.  Such  is  the  object 
which  Miss  Addams  set  herself  in  creating  Hull 
House,  and  it  is  carried  out,  in  hearty  cooperation 
with  her,  by  the  best  men  and  women,  from  all  ranks 
of  life,  and  from  all  kinds  of  belief,  —  Catholic,  Protes 
tant,  or  non-Christian.  Desiring  to  aid  the  foundress, 
who  lives  at  the  settlement-house,  these  devoted  assis 
tants  come  in  turn  to  take  up  residence  there,  in  this 
true  house  of  the  people,  and  so  come  to  close  quar 
ters  with  the  evils  they  are  seeking  to  destroy.  If 
anything  touching  the  public  health  in  the  condition 
of  the  streets,  the  water  supply,  or  what  not,  appears 
to  be  neglected,  they  recall  the  city  officials  to  their 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  149 

duty ;  they  see  to  it  that  the  streets  are  swept,  the  mud 
and  snow  removed,  and  proper  bathing  facilities  sup 
plied.  But  moral  problems  attract  their  attention  even 
more.  In  the  homes  of  the  people  they  encourage 
temperance,  secure  employment,  legitimize  irregular 
marriages.  At  Hull  House  itself,  which  is  open  to  all, 
they  provide  manual-training  courses,  reading-rooms, 
circulating  libraries,  free  halls  for  meetings,  musical 
concerts,  and  —  how  shall  I,  express  it?  —  lessons  in 
the  Ideal.  The  poor  people,  who,  beside  receiving 
there  a  more  solid  training,  may  listen  of  an  evening 
to  a  bit  of  poetry,  will  perhaps  carry  home  a  new  feel 
ing  of  dignity.  One  boy,  for  example,  was  awakened 
to  disinterestedness  and  to  a  higher  ideal  of  life,  who 
had  been  listening  to  tales  of  chivalry  and  quitted  the 
hall  in  tears  one  day,  declaring  he  would  never  return, 
"because  Prince  Roland  was  dead." 

These  certainly  are  noble  deeds.  Added  to  the 
efforts  of  religious  societies,  which  they  are  far  from 
opposing,  and  which,  on  their  part,  increase  the 
resources  of  charity  with  untiring  zeal,  they  afford  an 
uplifting  and  moral  influence  which  almost  suffices  for 
the  needs  of  immigrants,  though  their  needs  never 
cease,  and  they  are  arriving  in  ever-increasing  num 
bers.  When  one  sees  what  successful  Americans  do 
to  relieve  these  newcomers,  when  one  considers,  not 
so  much  the  royal  gifts  of  multi-millionaires  as  the 
personal  devotion  of  cultured  people,  especially  women, 
one  forgets  and  forgives  the  bitterness  of  the  strife  for 
success,  and  recognizes  a  certain  justice  in  the  praise 
given  to  Chicago  by  one  of  its  newspapers,  a  eulogy 


150  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

which  is  true,  as  well,  of  the  United  States  in  general. 
It  says:  "Her  hospitable  arms  have  welcomed,  and 
will  continue  to  welcome  as  long  as  the  world  is  no  bet 
ter,  the  disinherited  of  all  countries,  the  poor  crushed 
beings  who  seek  liberty  and  the  right  of  existence,  the 
fugitives  of  despotism,  speaking  perhaps  fifty  different 
languages,  but  all  having  the  same  cause.  And  the 
great  city  takes  them  all  to  her  heart,  and  comforts 
them,  and  makes  them  the  equals  of  her  own  sons."1 

This  article  is  entitled  "  Chicago,  the  Story  of  her 
Hundred  Years."  One  of  its  illustrations  represents, 
beneath  a  reproduction  of  the  present  splendors  of  La- 
Salle  Street,  a  half-naked  Indian  paddling  his  bark 
canoe  amid  the  reeds,  close  to  a  few  huts  and  a  little 
wooden  fort.  This  contrast  of  the  city  of  1903  and 
the  newly  created  village  of  1 803  speaks  for  itself. 
Just  at  this  moment,  during  my  sojourn,  Chicago  is 
preparing  to  celebrate  her  wonderful  centenary ;  to  halt 
for  a  spell,  as  it  were,  in  the  course  of  her  bewildering 
expansion,  and  look  back  over  the  distance  traversed. 

What  a  history  is  hers,  and  how  representative  it  is 
of  American  growth !  In  1 803  a  detachment  of  seventy 
men  construct  a  fort  there  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States ;  in  1 804  the  first  family  of  settlers  arrive ;  in 
1812  the  Indians  burn  the  fort  and  massacre  the  no 
inhabitants.  The  following  year  the  fort  is  recon 
structed.  In  1816  the  population  has  increased  to  150 
souls;  in  1830  to  500;  in  1834  to  1,600.  Many  of 
my  readers  were  born  before  Chicago,  to-day  the 

1  Chicago  "Sunday  Record-Herald"  of  September  30,  1903. 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  151 

seventh  city  in  the  world,  became  a  city.  It  was 
incorporated  as  such  in  1837,  when  it  had  4,170  citi 
zens.  By  1 86 1  there  were  120,000;  by  1871,324,290. 
During  that  year,  when  it  was  almost  destroyed  by  a 
fire,  the  like  of  which  the  world  has  never  seen,  its 
progress  was  not  even  interrupted.  As  the  fire  lasted 
several  days,  the  people  began  to  rebuild  one  part  of 
the  city  while  the  rest  was  still  burning.  Before  the 
scourge  had  ceased  to  afflict  them,  the  mayor  of  the  city 
issued  this  proclamation :  "  Since  it  has  pleased  Almighty 
God,  to  whose  will  we  humbly  bow,  to  cast  upon  our 
city  a  terrible  calamity  which  demands  our  most  ener 
getic  efforts  for  the  maintenance  of  good  order  and  the 
relief  of  sufferers :  let  it  be  known  that  the  word  and 
the  credit  of  Chicago  are  hereby  pledged  to  defray  all 
necessary  expenses."  Then  follows  the  announcement 
of  the  measures  to  be  taken  to  secure  public  assistance 
and  good  order,  thanks  to  which,  "with  the  help  of 
God,"  the  peace  and  welfare  of  all  will  be  safeguarded. 
And  the  document  ends  with  these  words,  which  gives 
to  so  tragic  an  event  a  truly  American  character :  "  It 
is  believed  that  the  fire  is  diminishing  in  fury,  and  that 
all  will  soon  be  well." 

All,  in  fact,  went  so  well  that  the  city  arose  from 
its  ashes  more  prosperous  and  beautiful  than  before. 
In  1 8 80  it  reached  the  number  of  596,358  inhabitants; 
in  1890,  of  1,105,540;  in  1900,  of  2,010,000.  The 
last  figure,  for  1903,  is  2,231,000.  To-day,  probably, 
it  is  close  to  two  and  a  half  million,  and  still  does  not 
stop.  Business  is  growing  there  day  after  day,  with  the 
continued  progress  of  the  West  and  Northwest.  Rail- 


152  IN    THE    LAND   OF 

road  is  being  added  to  railroad.  Thanks  to  the  canals, 
ships  may  pass  from  Chicago  to  the  Atlantic  by  the 
Great  Lakes  and  the  St.  Lawrence ;  and  now  the  deepen 
ing  of  the  Illinois  River  will  open  a  new  and  magnificent 
route  to  the  Mississippi  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Assured  now  that  wealth  will  come,  the  giant  city 
is  considering  more  and  more  the  uses  to  which  she 
shall  devote  it.  The  best  of  her  citizens  understand 
that  there  is  another  glory  beside  that  which  riches 
can  give ;  they  turn  their  eyes  to  a  loftier  ideal,  and 
declare  with  Bishop  Spalding:  "It  profits  not  that  the 
country  be  great,  if  the  men  be  small."  Their  fellow- 
citizens  do  not  hesitate  to  follow  them,  once  they  see 
that  the  honor  of  their  city  is  at  stake ;  for  she  is  loved 
by  all  with  a  strange  passion,  for  her  daring,  for  her 
success,  for  her  immensity,  for  the  good  which  they 
owe  her.  Without  refusing  to  recognize  those  "imper 
fections,"  as  they  put  it,  "inseparable  from  a  rapid 
growth,"  they  are  proud  of  her ;  they  intend  to  make 
her  first  in  everything;  and  since  science,  beauty,  and 
morality  are  necessary  to  true  greatness,  they  will 
devote  to  their  acquisition  that  energy  and  that 
dogged  purpose  which  have  proved  so  successful  in 
other  fields. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  153 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A    SMALL    CITY    AND    A    GREAT   BISHOP 
-PEORIA   AND    BISHOP    SPALDING 

Across  Illinois. —  Bishop  Spa/ding  at  Home. —  His  Philosophy 
and  Prestige. — A  Typical  American  City. —  Peoria,  its 
Resources,  its  Social  and  Educational  Advantages. — Ad 
ministrative  Simplicity  in  the  United  States. — A  Bishop 
Beloved  in  his  Diocese. 

A  FTER  my  exciting  days  in  Chicago,  the  trip  across 
smiling  Illinois  on  my  way  to  Peoria  was  a  real 
rest.  Hardly  is  one  out  of  the  great  city,  when  corn 
fields  appear,  which,  like  all  things  here,  seem  limitless. 
They  alternate  with  well-ploughed  and  harrowed  sec 
tions,  verdant  prairies  where  cattle  graze  peacefully, 
dense  clusters  of  trees,  scattered  farms,  small  towns, 
or  rather  large  villages  of  wooden  houses,  all  of 
which  serve  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  jour 
ney.  What  strange  names  one  finds  in  this  region ! 
Evidently  men  of  many  nations  have  left  traces  of 
their  memories  and  fancies  in  their  path.  The  five 
stations  preceding  Peoria  are  Fairburg,  Chenoa,  El 
Paso,  Eureka,  and  Washington ;  the  two  last  names 
being  found  in  I  know  not  how  many  States.  In  the 
same  region,  not  far  away,  I  noticed  La  Salle,  Decatur, 
Berlin,  Orleans,  Carthage,  Keokuk,  and  Muscatine, 
on  the  map.  On  another  road,  to  the  Northwest,  one 
travels  from  Toledo  to  Frankfort  by  way  of  Durand 
and  Cadillac. 


i54  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

The  landscape  becomes  more  interesting.  Here 
are  wooded  hills,  parks,  residences,  and  with  this  added 
beauty  come  more  noise  and  life.  We  cross  the  Illi 
nois  River  and  enter  Peoria.  The  thought  that  I  am 
about  to  see  once  more,  to  live  with  him  awhile  in  the 
intimacy  of  his  own  home,  one  of  those  rare  men  in 
whose  presence  it  is  a  happiness  to  feel  insignificant, 
awakens  in  me  a  wealth  of  emotion. 

Not  that  Bishop  Spalding  tries  to  impress  one  by 
any  sort  of  outward  show.  American  bishops  are 
noted  for  their  simplicity;  and  he  is  the  simplest  of 
them  all.  Like  all  truly  superior  minds,  he  respects 
in  each  the  natural  dignity  of  man,  and  treats  everyone 
as  his  equal.  I  do  not  think  he  speaks  in  any  other 
way  to  his  friend  President  Roosevelt  than  he  would  to 
the  youngest  curate  in  his  cathedral.  It  matters  not 
where  or  before  whom  he  may  be,  he  is  always  simply 
himself,  without  precaution  or  reserve.  If  one  inspires 
confidence  in  him,  he  says  so,  and  thereafter  it  may 
be  relied  upon.  In  the  contrary  case,  his  manner  is 
equally  candid.  I  do  not  know,  —  or,  rather  I  do 
know,  but  do  not  care  to  say,  —  who  it  was  that  one 
day  asked  his  cooperation  in  a  certain  enterprise,  and 
upon  being  refused  point-blank,  demanded  an  explana 
tion.  "  Because  I  have  no  confidence  in  you,"  answered 
Bishop  Spalding,  with  the  most  natural  tone  in  the 
world. 

Bishop,  orator,  author,  simple  citizen,  he  goes 
about  his  work  without  ever  caring  for  appearances ; 
and  thinks  of  what  he  ought  to  do,  not  what  people 
may  say  of  him.  There  is  no  more  affectation  in  his 


BISHOP  SPALDING 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  155 

mode  of  living  than  about  his  person.  His  dwelling, 
his  speech,  and  his  manner  are  those  of  an  honest  man, 
neither  luxurious  nor  austere.  It  seems  as  if  he  con 
sidered  external  details  not  worth  either  magnifying  nor 
belittling.  For  him,  the  picture,  not  the  frame,  is  of 
importance.  During  our  week  of  intimacy  I  did  not 
remark  a  single  striking  feature  in  connection  with  this 
great  bishop.  We  lived  in  the  little  rectory,  with  his 
family  of  three  priests  belonging  to  the  Cathedral. 
We  took  long  drives  in  a  buggy,  and  when  we  stopped 
to  visit  churches  or  convents,  the  prelate,  more  expert 
in  the  matter  than  I,  tied  our  horse  to  the  hitch- 
ing-post  himself;  we  enjoyed  long  chats  after  meals, 
—  and  that  was  all.  All?  Yes,  truly;  but  I  sought 
no  more;  for  those  few  days  have  left  in  my  mem 
ory  much  light  and  peace.  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  report  these  conversations  in  detail;  if  I  did,  I 
might  be  even  less  accurate  than  discreet.  There  was, 
indeed,  nothing  didactic  in  our  talks.  It  is  only  when 
one  is  hurried,  or  not  well  acquainted,  that  subjects  are 
treated  ex-professo,  in  the  manner  of  interviews.  And, 
moreover,  Dr.  Spalding  is  not  the  man  to  formulate 
theories.  His  conversation,  still  more  than  his  books, 
abounds  in  unexpected  and  profound  views,  flashes  of 
light  which  suddenly  illumine  obscure  questions,  reflec 
tions  of  almost  involuntary  confidences  which  by  a  sweet 
contagion  fill  one  with  internal  peace,  charity  toward  all, 
and  trust  in  divine  Providence. 

If  the  attempt  be  made  to  analyze  the  depth  of  his 
ideas,  or  at  least  the  impression  that  they  leave,  a  single 
word,  one  which,  by  the  way,  reappears  unceasingly  in 


156  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

all  he  says  and  writes,  would  be  found  to  express  the 
kernel  of  his  thought.  That  word  is  Life.  Life  is 
everything ;  it  is  the  end  and  the  means.  God  possesses 
infinite  life  in  Himself,  and  when  he  creates  it  is  a  giv 
ing  of  life.  Christ  came  to  enlarge  life.  Life  once 
received  is  ours  forever;  the  great  thing  is  to  develop 
it  and  unite  it  to  the  divine  life.  Thought  and  action 
must  be  judged  in  their  relation  to  life ;  that  which 
broadens  life  is  good ;  that  which  narrows  it  is  bad. 
Whatever  in  human  institutions  is  inconsistent  with 
life,  or  does  not  make  for  its  advancement,  is  useless, 
and  is  doomed.  Again,  if  we  wish  to  conquer  obstacles, 
and  to  do  away  with  things  dead  and  inert,  it  is  to  life 
that  we  must  look.  That  which  no  longer  lives  is 
crowded  out  rather  by  the  natural  struggle  of  the  living 
than  by  any  direct  opposition.  Let  us  oppose  evil 
with  good,  error  with  truth.  It  is  positive  action,  not 
negative,  that  is  effective.  Let  us  be  good,  whatever 
happens ;  and  let  us  be  patient.  We  must  avoid  irrita 
tion  toward  those  who  differ  from  us.  We  may  try  to 
bring  them  to  our  way  of  thinking ;  if  we  fail  in  this, 
we  can  put  our  trust  in  a  possible  growth  of  their 
minds,  or  in  the  gradual  elimination  of  their  errors. 
But  we  must  not  fall  into  weakness.  Let  us  stand  by 
the  good  and  the  true,  even  though  others  are  uncon 
scious  of  them.  The  important  question  is  not,  Are 
we  approved  by  others  ?  but,  Are  we  in  the  right  ?  The 
point  is  not  whether  we  receive  reward,  but  whether 
we  are  worthy  of  it.  For  the  rest,  God  has  so  ordained 
that  generally,  even  in  this  world,  those  who  are  in  the 
right  and  who  do  right  will  triumph  in  the  end.  At 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  157 

least  their  efforts  are  never  lost  to  the  cause  they  serve, 
and  they  should  not  be  anxious  though  apparently 
defeated.  Justice  and  truth,  for  which  they  have 
labored,  are  sure  of  final  victory.  No  one  can  trouble 
the  peace  of  the  sage,  the  Christian  ;  he  knows  that 
God  always  wins. 

But  I  hesitate  about  speaking  in  this  fashion.  It  is 
my  thought  which  I  have  been  giving  here,  and  which 
I  have  dared  to  attribute  to  Bishop  Spalding;  my 
thought  indeed,  although  influenced  by  his,  although 
colored  by  the  endeavor  to  recall  again  what  his  words, 
his  books,  his  silences  even,  stirred  up  in  my  listening 
soul.  How  feeble  and  lifeless  it  all  is,  contrasted  with 
what  in  him  seemed  so  strong  and  ardent,  while  at  the 
same  time  so  measured  and  so  nobly  serene !  I  have 
met  more  competent  specialists  on  many  topics.  But 
I  doubt  if  there  actually  exists  in  the  world  another 
man  with  a  better  understanding  of  religious,  social, 
and  philosophic  problems ;  and  I  do  not  know  if  there 
lives  anywhere  a  more  Christian  thinker  or  a  Christian 
who  thinks  more  profoundly. 

I  am  glad  to  find  that  Bishop  Spalding  is  fully 
appreciated  by  his  countrymen.  Already  famous  for 
his  numerous  writings,1  and  for  the  important  role  he 
played  in  the  foundation  of  the  Catholic  University  at 
Washington,  he  has  gained  new  prestige  and  authority 
through  his  appointment  by  the  President,  in  1902, 

1  See  his  "  Socialism  and  Labor,"  "  Opportunity  and  Other  Essays,"  "Education 
and  the  Higher  Life,"  "  Things  of  the  Mind,"  "  Means  and  Ends  of  Education," 
"Thoughts  and  Theories  of  Life  and  Education,"  "Aphorisms  and  Reflections," 
"Religion,  Agnosticism,  and  Education,"  and  "Glimpses  of  Truth."  (Chicago: 
A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.)  "  Lectures  and  Discourses,"  "Essays  and  Reviews,"  "The 
Religious  Mission  of  the  Irish  People."  (Catholic  Publication  Society  Co.,  N.  Y.) 


158  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

as  member  of  the  Arbitration  Commission  which  so 
happily  settled  the  terrible  strike  of  the  Pennsylvania 
coal-miners.  A  detail  not  generally  known,  and  which 
enhances  the  honor  of  his  appointment,  is  the  fact 
that  after  it  had  been  decided  that  the  commission 
should  be  composed  of  a  military  officer,  a  mining 
engineer,  a  coal  operator,  a  judge,  and  "  a  man  of 
prominence,  eminent  as  a  sociologist," l  Bishop  Spalding 
was  selected  by  the  President,  and  accepted  by  the 
employers  and  workmen,  as  the  man  in  the  United 
States  best  answering  to  the  latter  description.  Cardinal 
Perraud  was  not  mistaken  when  he  wrote  to  me, 
September  15,  1901  :  "The  Bishop  of  Peoria  seems 
called  by  Providence  to  exercise  a  great  influence  on 
the  progress  of  Catholicism  in  his  country."  Beside 
this  much-talked-of  appointment  to  the  coal-strike 
commission,  evidences  of  his  standing  among  the  intel 
lectual  elite  become  more  and  more  frequent.  Not 
only  the  best  minds  in  the  Church  admire  him,  but 
outside  the  faith  his  worth  is  recognized,  notably  by 
the  great  universities,  where  his  books  are  used,  his 
presence  and  his  speeches  are  in  demand,  and  a  sort  of 
friendly  rivalry  in  giving  him  honorary  degrees  seems 
to  be  frequently  manifested.  When  Columbia  Uni 
versity  of  New  York  a  few  years  ago  conferred  the 
doctor's  degree  on  Alfred  Croiset,  the  amiable  and 
learned  Dean  of  the  Faculte  des  Lettres  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Paris,  he  was  very  much  struck  by  the 

1  Report  to  the  President  on  the  Anthracite  Coal  Strike  of  May-October,  1902, 
Washington,  Government  Printing-Office,  1903,  p.  ii.  I  cannot  help  remarking 
that  in  the  pages  of  this  valuable  work,  John  Mitchell,  President  of  the  Miners' 
Union,  addresses  the  Chief  Executive  merely  as  "  Dear  Sir."  There  is  democracy 
for  us  !  And  the  odd  part  of  it  is  that  people  in  America  will  be  astonished  only  at 
our  astonishment. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  159 

extraordinary  deference  everybody  paid  to  a  bishop 
who  at  the  same  time  received  a  like  honor.  That 
bishop  was  Dr.  Spalding.  I  have  rarely  heard  one 
man  praise  another  with  such  warmth  as  President 
Roosevelt  used  with  regard  to  Bishop  Spalding,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  interview  accorded  me  at  the  White 
House. 

I  believe  that  Americans  will,  in  their  turn,  be  glad 
to  learn  that  Europeans  appreciate  the  lofty  ideals  of 
Bishop  Spalding.  The  publication  of  a  part  of  his 
works  in  French,  Italian,  and  German  has  been  a 
real  success,  as  evidenced  by  the  notices  which  followed 
the  publication  at  Paris,  in  1901,  of  a  number  of  his 
most  characteristic  discourses  under  the  title  "  Oppor- 
tunite."  "  Le  Correspondant "  devoted  a  long  arti 
cle  to  the  book.  "  La  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes " 
described  the  work  as  very  beautiful,  eloquent,  and 
substantial,  and  added  that  "  nothing  could  be  better 
than  to  make  known  the  original  and  daring  talents  of 
the  Bishop  of  Peoria,  who  ranked  with  Cardinal  Gib 
bons,  Archbishop  Ireland,  and  Archbishop  Keane  as  a 
leader  of  Catholic  action  and  thought  in  the  United 
States."  "La  Semaine  Religieuse"  (of  the  Archbish 
opric  of  Paris)  said:  "How  good  it  is  to  hear  the 
account  of  the  truly  great  and  progressive  works  in 
the  country  of  real  freedom,  works  of  which  Catholi 
cism  will  always  be  capable ! "  Several  reviews,  like 
"Science  Sociale,"  "La  Revue  du  Clerge  Fra^ais," 
"  Les  Annales  de  Philosophic  Chretienne,"  cited  entire 
chapters  of  the  book.  Two  somewhat  lengthier  quota 
tions  will  show  what  has  impressed  us  Europeans  most 


160  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

in  Bishop  Spalding's  ideas.     Baron  Angot  des  Rotours 
writes  in  the  "  Reforme  Sociale  " : 

We  seem  here  to  find  a  new  echo  of  the  great  voices  of 
Lacordaire,  Montalembert,  Gratry,  Dupanloup;  and  the  dominant 
theme  to  which  Mgr.  Spalding  ever  returns,  the  duty  of  Catholics  to 
place  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  intellectual  and  scientific  move 
ment,  is  one  which  Mgr.  d'Hulst,  initiator  of  the  International 
Congress  of  learned  Catholics,  had  very  much  at  heart.  Not  that 
this  very  modern  apologist  is  wanting  in  perfect  and  tender  faith  in 
Christ.  But  precisely  because  this  faith  is  absolute  and  fully  assured, 
he  fears  no  scientific  discovery,  no  progress,  but  permits  and  counsels 
men  to  go  forward  in  joyful  freedom. 

Pere  Laberthonniere,  Superior  of  the  celebrated 
College  de  Juilly,  a  most  competent  philosopher,  espe 
cially  in  questions  of  psychology  and  education,  says: 

Each  of  the  chapters  is  a  meditation  and  a  song ;  it  is  a  living 
stream  which,  welling  from  an  inexhaustible  spring,  is  broad,  abun 
dant,  ever  new,  and  yet  calm,  deep,  impetuous,  and  strong.  The 
soul  revealed  there  is  at  once  zealous  and  serene,  uniting  the  tran 
quillity  of  faith  to  the  effort  of  investigation.  To  him  everything  is 
an  occasion,  an  opportunity  to  drink  in  truth  and  goodness.  It  can 
indeed  be  said  that  nothing  of  human  interest  is  indifferent  to  him. 
We  find  in  his  pages  evidence  of  an  internal  life  very  intense,  very 
rich  in  experience  and  reflection,  expressing  itself  in  terse  and  pene 
trating  sayings.  One  is  reminded  of  the  "Imitation,"  and  at  the 
same  time  one  feels  that  this  book  belongs  to  another  period  of  the 
universal  Christian  life.  Clothed  in  language  at  once  so  simple,  so 
deep,  and  so  sincere,  the  old  truths  come  to  us  from  America,  the 
country  of  business,  of  scientific  and  material  progress,  with  a  new 
and  quite  unexpected  significance.  I  should  be  sorry  for  anyone 
who  would  not  feel  their  charm  and  be  touched  by  it.  Our  religion 
appears  there  in  all  its  moral  grandeur,  in  all  its  supernatural  beauty, 
at  once  human  and  divine.  It  does  not  defend  itself,  nor  answer 
objections,  nor  attack  errors ;  it  merely  manifests  itself  in  a  soul  that 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  161 

lives,  a  mind   that  thinks,    and,   in   being  thus  mirrored,  it  shines 
forth  splendidly. 

With  the  atmosphere  of  intellectual  clearness  and 
moral  tranquillity  encompassing  this  great  soul,  the 
serene  sky  and  the  gracious  temperature  that  lasted 
during  my  entire  stay  in  Peoria  were  in  perfect  har 
mony.  The  Autumn  is  truly  an  exquisite  season  in 
this  part  of  the  United  States,  for  I  have  met  nothing, 
even  in  northern  Italy,  to  surpass  this  radiant  sun 
shine,  dry  pure  air,  these  warm  days,  and  refreshing 
nights.  We  enjoyed  this  glorious  weather,  driving 
each  morning  through  the  boulevards  and  highways  of 
the  neighborhood.  What  a  pleasure,  while  philoso 
phizing  on  the  progress  of  civilization,  to  follow  along 
the  roads  just  cleared  in  the  immense  though  still 
uncultivated  park  but  recently  bequeathed  to  the  city ! 
Here  has  primitive  Nature  been  invaded  by  man's 
ingenuity.  Electric  lamps  peep  out  of  corners  of  the 
virgin  forest.  A  half-century  ago,  Indians  hunted 
under  the  mighty  trees  where  to-day  a  people,  —  the 
most  industrious,  perhaps  the  most  advanced,  in  the 
world,  come  on  Sunday  to  rest  in  the  shade. 

And  what  a  view  from  the  top  of  these  hills !  At 
our  feet  the  pretty  and  energetic  city, —  the  smoky 
chimneys  of  its  distilleries  and  factories  redeemed  by 
steeples,  towers,  villas,  and  gardens, —  nestles  coquet- 
tishly  on  the  banks  of  a  fine  river  broadening  into  a 
lake.  Beyond,  on  the  opposite  shore,  the  verdant 
mantles  of  another  line  of  hills  are  reflected  in  the 
water.  We  can  understand  why,  two  centuries  ago, 
heroic  Frenchmen,  missionaries  and  explorers  like 


162  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Marquette  and  De  la  Salle,  found  a  pleasant  resting- 
place  here,  and  why  a  little  town  should  have  arisen 
on  this  charming  spot.  In  spite  of  constant  misfor 
tunes,  repeated  destruction  by  Indians  or  by  soldiers, 
its  settlers  persevered  until  Peoria's  future  was  assured. 
At  present,  this  city,  numbering  no  more  than  60,000 
inhabitants,  is  reckoned  among  the  richest  of  towns 
because  of  its  industries.  Its  distilleries,  glucose  and 
other  manufactories,  though  of  limited  size,  yield  a 
public  revenue  second  only  to  that  of  New  York.1 

Fourteen  railroad  lines  cross  the  city,  or  border 
upon  it,  and  the  traffic  on  the  Illinois  River,  even  now 
important,  will  be  much  extended  when  the  proposed 
canal  connecting  Chicago  with  the  Mississippi  is  com 
pleted.  Soon  boats  of  heavy  tonnage,  plying  between 
the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  will  touch 
at  this  point. 

Peoria  is  not  altogether  engrossed  in  material  cares. 
That  she  values  art  and  taste  is  shown  in  several  of 
her  public  buildings,  and  especially  in  St.  Mary's 
Cathedral.  This  church  is  comparatively  small,  like 
most  places  of  worship  in  the  United  States,  where, 
not  wishing  to  run  the  risk  of  empty  pews,  it  is 
thought  preferable  to  build  a  small  church,  and  to 
erect  another  when  the  congregation  needs  it ;  but  the 
interior  is  a  perfect  ogive,  and  its  two  spires  are  most 
graceful  in  outline.  Let  us  reflect  that  only  sixty  years 
ago  a  missionary  came  here  once  every  six  weeks  to 
say  mass  in  a  room  for  a  handful  of  nine  or  ten  faith 
ful  !  Now  the  city  has  nine  churches,  and  the  diocese 

1  In  1901  Peoria's  distilleries  sent  to  the  United  States  Treasury  $30,296,764. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  163 

217,  with  181  priests,  and  123,500  faithful,  though 
only  twenty-five  years  ago  Mgr.  Spalding  became  its 
first  bishop.  The  annual  report,  from  which  I  took 
these  figures,  gives  others  which  deserve  comment; 
there  were  1,190  deaths,  3,647  baptisms,  962  mar 
riages.  Notice  that  there  are  almost  as  many  marriages 
as  deaths,  and  three  times  as  many  baptisms.  Need 
one  say,  then,  that  Catholicism  grows  only  through 
immigration  in  America? 

But  this  encouraging  bit  of  statistics  has  led  us 
away  from  our  subject.  The  inhabitants  of  Peoria 
give  what  is  perhaps  the  best  proof  of  their  good  taste 
in  their  care  to  make  the  streets,  which  stretch  away 
from  the  business  quarter  into  the  country,  resemble 
shady  park  walks  as  much  as  possible.  We  mentioned 
before  that  this  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
typical  American  city,  and  we  have  already  spoken  of 
the  beauty  of  the  private  residences.  It  seems  to  me 
—  and  this  is  a  singular  plaint,  I  know  —  that  too 
much  attention  is  paid  here  to  styles  of  architecture, 
and  too  little  to  the  rules  of  comfort.  After  all,  why 
this  passion  for  the  archaic,  the  Egyptian, —  for 
building  porches,  windows,  and  balconies  so  low  that 
scarcely  any  air  or  light  can  find  access  to  them  ?  I 
prefer  imitations  of  Greek  porticos,  Italian  loggias, 
and  I  like  the  English  cottages  best  of  all. 

However,  the  greatest  luxury  in  Peoria,  as  in  all 
other  American  cities,  is  the  costly  system  of  public 
education.  Some  details  concerning  what  a  medium- 
sized  city,  one  not  endowed  by  philanthropic 
millionaires,  accomplishes  in  this  matter,  will  show 


1 64  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

better  than  a  treatise  the  desire  for  instruction  and 
cultivation  pervading  the  American  spirit.  Half  of 
the  municipal  revenues  and  taxes  is  devoted  to  educa 
tional  purposes.  Each  district  has  its  public  schools., 
almost  palatial  without,  practical  and  perfectly  com 
fortable  within.  There  is  a  business  school,  founded 
by  private  individuals,  but  supported  by  the  city,  which 
conducts  both  day  and  night  classes,  and  gives  a 
commercial  training  to  about  400  boys  and  girls;  a 
Polytechnic  Institute,  where  the  sciences  are  taught 
and  students  are  prepared  for  the  various  professions, 
the  gift  of  a  generous  and  enlightened  woman,  Mrs. 
Lydia  Bradley.  The  Lutherans  have  built  five  primary 
schools  accommodating  250  children;  the  other  Prot 
estant  sects  have  no  schools  of  their  own.  The 
Catholics  have  five  schools  which  educate  1,500 
children,  and  have  two  higher-grade  schools  beside, — 
the  Spalding  Institute  for  boys,  conducted  by  the 
Marist  Brothers  (who  in  France  have  been  driven 
from  Stanislas  College),  and  the  Notre  Dame  du  Sacre 
Coeur,  managed  by  twenty  religionists  belonging  to 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  originally  a  French  order, 
but  having  now  a  Mother  House  at  St.  Louis.  In 
how  many  parts  of  what  was  once  Louisiana  are  found 
traces  of  the  good  deeds  of  our  countrymen !  Religious 
faith  and  freedom  were  introduced  here  by  French 
explorers  and  missionaries.  They  have  prospered; 
they  offer  us  a  consoling  welcome. 

The  library  at  Peoria  has  not  the  royal  proportions 
of  those  I  admired  in  Chicago  and  Boston.  Never 
theless,  though  sedate  and  modest  in  exterior,  it  pleased 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  165 

me  more  than  the  others ;  for  this  building  represents, 
not  the  munificent  gifts  of  some  steel  or  oil  king,  but 
the  meritorious  contributions  of  private  citizens,  the 
spontaneous  generosity  of  a  people  eager  for  instruc 
tion.  The  directors  of  the  library  must  calculate  and 
economize  on  every  hand,  like  the  father  of  a  family ; 
they  must  hold  meetings,  and  render  accounts  of  their 
stewardship ;  they  must  raise  money  by  private  sub 
scription,  and  obtain  the  electors'  approval  for  city 
grants.  They  have  had  to  proceed  slowly  (slowly, 
that  is  to  say,  in  comparison  with  other  Americans), 
and  to  spend  twenty  years  in  making  a  collection  of 
337  periodicals  and  90,000  volumes.  The  librarian 
seemed  ashamed  to  give  us  these  figures,  respectable 
though  they  were.  He  added  immediately  that  there 
was  room  for  250,000  books  in  the  present  building, 
and  that  they  owned  enough  ground  adjoining  to 
double  this  capacity  when  needed. 

It  is  noticeable  how  extensively  these  works  are 
consulted.  According  to  the  last  report,  132,760  vol 
umes  of  fiction  and  50,140  works  of  instruction  were 
loaned  for  home  use,  without  mentioning  the  books 
used  by  the  large  number  of  persons  who,  especially 
in  the  evening,  after  work,  come  to  read  in  the  library ; 
for  there  is  no  further  formality  than  to  select  and 
take  from  the  shelves  the  books  they  want.  However, 
the  works  which  are  dangerous  or  useless  to  the  average 
reader  are  kept  apart  and  issued  only  on  request.  The 
priest  who  accompanied  me,  having  noticed  in  the 
public  reading-room  a  work  rather  violently  prejudiced 
against  Catholicism,  pointed  it  out  to  the  head-librarian, 


166  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

who  apologized,  and  had  it  removed  at  once.  The 
books  left  at  the  disposal  of  the  children  are  also  the 
object  of  special  supervision.  Aside  from  these  wise 
precautions,  the  library  of  Peoria  knows,  so  to  speak, 
no  red-tape.  Everybody  there  follows  his  inclination, 
looks  for  and  chooses  his  reading-matter  just  as  if  he 
were  at  home.  Recent  publications,  for  instance,  be 
fore  being  classified  and  put  in  place,  are  left  for  some 
time  in  easy  reach  of  the  public,  who  are  expected  to 
see,  handle,  and  become  familiar  with  them,  and  thus 
take  a  greater  interest  in  the  acquirement  of  knowledge. 
"We  do  not  wish,"  says  the  report  of  1891,  "that  the 
least  constraint  or  discipline  be  felt  in  the  library ;  but 
that  there  be  a  home-feeling  instead.  We  trust  to  the 
good  sense  and  manners  of  the  public."  And  this  year 
the  directors,  after  having  called  to  mind  the  confi 
dence  and  liberality  displayed  by  the  management  in 
the  past,  add:  "This  policy  will  be  continued  and 
enforced  in  the  future.  Fears  were  entertained  by 
some  that  free  access  to  books  on  the  shelves  would 
result  in  the  loss  of  many  volumes  by  theft  or  careless 
ness.  The  test  of  experience  has  proved  that,  while 
some  loss  may  occasionally  occur,  the  greater  attraction 
given  to  the  public  by  allowing  books  to  be  seen  on 
the  shelves,  handled,  tasted,  and  examined,  more  than 
compensates  for  any  occasional  loss."  Not  to  restrain 
legitimate  use  in  order  to  prevent  abuse,  is  character 
istic  of  this  land  of  liberty.  The  sacrifice  of  the 
welfare  of  the  best  and  most  capable  because  of  a 
probable  need  of  precautions  against  the  fool  and 
the  fashion,  is  a  conception  which,  although  partly 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  167 

reasonable,  never  enters  the  American  mind.  Before 
I  left  the  library,  its  custodian,  a  cultured  man  who 
has  travelled  a  great  deal,  told  me  a  good  anecdote 
about  an  experience  of  his  in  Paris,  after  a  day's  work 
in  the  National  Library.  "As  I  went  out/'  he  said, 
"  carrying  a  book  belonging  to  me,  I  was  stopped,  and 
—  would  you  believe  it,  sir?  —  was  obliged  to  get  a 
permit  to  take  away  my  own  property/'  I  did  indeed 
believe  it. 

On  the  same  order  as  the  schools  and  the  library, 
I  must  not  forget  to  mention  the  Scientific  Association, 
instituted  in  1895,  "to  increase  scientific  knowledge 
among  its  members,  and  to  awaken  a  spirit  of  scientific 
investigation  in  the  people."  Since  its  organization, 
the  Society  has  founded  a  museum,  which  has  grown 
rapidly,  and  instituted  conferences,  almost  always  free, 
which  are  held  by  the  most  competent  scholars  in  the 
country.  Beside  the  lectures  on  a  great  variety  of 
subjects,  given  usually  in  Winter,  there  are  scientific 
courses  for  the  Summer  months.  There  is  never  a 
lack  of  visitors  in  the  museum,  nor  a  want  of  an  audi 
ence  at  these  public  lectures.  Every  earnest  mind 
tries  to  contribute  to  the  success  of  these  educational 
projects;  it  enters  no  one's  head  to  oppose  them,  or 
to  make  them  an  instrument  of  attack  against  any 
faith  whatever. 

The  same  breadth  of  spirit  governs  the  relations 
of  two  musical  societies,  an  artists'  league,  two  clubs 
for  men,  and  one  for  women.  The  women's  club  num 
bers  no  less  than  four  hundred  members,  who  do  not 
meet  each  evening,  nor  at  times  that  would  interfere 


168  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

with  family  duties,  but  only  whenever  it  becomes 
necessary  to  promote  the  improvement  of  the  home, 
of  education,  literature,  music,  art,  social  conditions, 
the  protection  of  women  and  children,  or  any  other 
of  the  ends  for  which  they  are  banded  together.  Beside 
the  above-named  societies,  there  are  of  course  numer 
ous  sodalities  more  religious  in  character,  organized  by 
the  various  creeds  for  every  age  and  need. 

A  word  now  about  Peoria's  charities.  Although 
the  social  machinery  runs  as  smoothly  as  can  be  expected, 
and  there  is  plenty  of  work  for  all,  misery  directly 
consequent  upon  sickness,  old  age,  death,  and  wrong 
doing  remains  to  be  relieved.  There  is  a  good  city 
hospital  of  two  hundred  beds,  and  a  finer  one  of  the 
same  size,  founded  by  Mgr.  Spalding,  in  charge  of  a 
German  religious  order.  The  Methodist  Deaconesses 
conduct  a  somewhat  smaller  hospital,  and  at  an  Elec- 
tropathic  Institute  a  female  physician  cares  for  patients 
free  of  charge.  The  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor  receive 
the  destitute  aged  at  St.  Joseph's  Home,  and  lay 
endowments  support  a  similar  establishment.  A  city 
orphanage  gives  an  industrial  training  to  destitute 
young  girls.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  bring  up 
orphans  on  a  large  farm  belonging  to  the  Bishop,  and 
frequently  find  them  good  homes  and  adoptive  parents 
in  the  neighborhood  —  for  there  are  never  too  many 
helping  hands  in  a  prosperous  country.  We  recognize 
here  the  motive  which  at  one  time  induced  Bishop 
Spalding  and  Archbishop  Ireland  to  establish  agricul 
tural  colonies  of  the  Irish  in  Nebraska  and  Minnesota. 
They  succeeded  both  from  a  religious  and  social  point 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  169 

of  view,  and  would  have  obtained  the  best  results  had 
not  some  men  of  short-sighted  policy  opposed  this 
movement  under  the  pretext  that  the  faith  of  Catholics 
was  endangered  by  removing  them  from  city  parishes. 

The  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  who  were  called 
to  Peoria  by  Bishop  Spalding,  carry  on  their  work  in 
behalf  of  the  moral  uplifting  of  unfortunate  women. 
Their  labor  of  love,  manifesting  more  than  any  other 
the  merciful  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  is  the  constant  admir 
ation  of  Protestants,  among  whom,  let  it  be  said  to 
their  credit,  it  excites  much  generous  emulation.  "  This 
religious  institution,"  said  President  Roosevelt,  regard 
ing  their  establishment  at  Albany,  "  is  under  the  direc 
tion  of  a  faith  other  than  my  own ;  but  few  things  have 
given  me  more  pleasure  than  the  signing  of  the  bill 
extending  its  power  and  usefulness." 

During  my  visit  to  the  Refuge  of  the  Good  Shep 
herd,  especially  dear  to  Bishop  Spalding's  fatherly 
heart,  I  again  had  occasion  to  notice  the  pleasant 
relations  which  here  exist  between  the  civil  authorities 
and  the  Church.  "Well,  Sister,"  said  the  Bishop  to 
the  Sister  Superior,  "you  may  start  the  water-system 
you  have  wanted  so  much."  "  But,  Bishop,  you  can 
pay  only  a  third  of  its  cost."  "I  have  obtained  the 
city's  promise  to  pay  the  rest."  Do  I  need  to  add 
that  in  America  charitable  communities,  instead  of 
being  burdened  with  extra  taxes,  are  entirely  exempt 
from  all  such  obligations? 

And  since  I  have  touched  on  these  questions,  I 
must  say  that  though  nothing  resembling  the  Budget 
des  Cultes  exists  in  the  United  States,  nevertheless  the 


i yo  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

State  subsidizes  a  certain  number  of  religious  func 
tionaries  (chaplains  of  the  army,  navy,  and  military 
schools,  for  example),  who  are  considered  as  rendering 
public  services.  Recently  it  seemed  to  Bishop  Spald- 
ing  that  the  number  of  Catholics  in  an  establishment 
of  this  character  in  his  diocese  had  increased  sufficiently 
to  warrant  the  appointment  of  a  resident  priest.  In 
fact,  he  and  his  coadjutor1  came  to  this  decision  the 
very  night  of  my  arrival  in  Peoria.  "Take  steps," 
he  said  to  Mgr.  O'Reilly,  "to  secure  for  him  a  suffi 
cient  salary.  That  will  not  be  difficult.  If  it  should 
prove  to  be  so,  let  me  know  and  I  will  write  to  the 
Board  of  Management."  Then  the  two  bishops 
decided  three  or  four  matters  of  equal  importance, 
among  others  the  creation  of  a  new  parish  and  the 
nomination  of  its  pastor,  in  the  short  space  of  the 
first  ten  minutes  we  spent  in  the  parlor  after  dinner; 
and  the  sitting  of  the  council  was  at  an  end.  Every 
where  in  the  Church  as  in  the  State,  and  in  their  lim 
ited  relations  with  each  other,  affairs  are  regulated  with 
this  entire  absence  of  formality.  All  goes  on  as  simply 
as  possible.  To  each  is  left  all  the  initiative  compati 
ble  with  good  order ;  and  civil  or  religious  authorities 
are  never  more  satisfied  than  when  their  subordinates 
know  how  to  govern  themselves.  "  It  is  your  own 
fault,"  Bishop  Spalding  said  to  his  clergy  at  a  synod, 
"  it  is  your  own  fault  if  every  one  of  you  is  not  bishop 
in  his  own  parish." 

1Mgr.  O'Reilly,  Bishop  Spalding's  vicar-general,  and  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's 
parish,  Peoria,  was  made  bishop  September  21,  1900,  but  still  fulfils  quite  simply  the 
duties  of  his  two  former  offices. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  171 


CHAPTER   IX 

ST.   LOUIS  AND   THE   WORLD'S   FAIR 

'The  Louisiana  of  Chateaubriand  and  That  of  To-day. —  Im 
mensity  of  American  Cities. —  Archbishop  Glennon. —  The 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition. —  Its  Dominant  Idea. —  The 
President  of  the  United  States  at  the  Jesuit  College. — 
Religious  Tolerance.  —  The  Contemplative  Life. — A  Pioneer: 
the  Bishop  of  Wichita. — An  Old  French  Family. — A  Word 
about  Mexico. — A  Fine  Christian  Brothers'  College. — A 
Grand  Seminary  of  the  European  Kind. — The  Living  Church. 

TX7E  have  now  to  leave  the  sedate  and  prosperous 
little  city  of  Peoria,  and  its  broad-minded  and 
large-hearted  Bishop ;  and,  despite  my  renewal  of  phys 
ical  and  moral  strength,  I  feel  sad  as  the  train  starts  for 
St.  Louis.  As  the  Illinois  River  appears  in  view  from 
time  to  time,  while  we  pass  through  vast  fields  of 
Indian  corn,  I  think  of  the  Seine,  and  realize  regret 
fully  how  far  home  is  from  this  beloved  place. 
I  go  over  once  more  all  the  impressions  of  this 
happy  week,  and  am  so  absorbed  as  hardly  to  be 
distracted  by  the  extravagant  series  of  names  which 
are  called  out  at  the  stations  :  Pekin,  Manito,  Bishop, 
Havana,  Petersburg,  Athens,  Modesto,  Palmyra,  Jer- 
seyville.  Evening  comes,  calm  and  dreamy;  and 
almost  without  perceiving  that  we  have  crossed  the 
Mississippi  on  a  giant  bridge,  we  stop  at  the  immense 
Union  Depot,  in  which  converge  twenty-four  lines  of 
railway.  It  is  said  —  and  I  think  truly — that  there 


172  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

is  not  a  larger  railroad  station  in  the  world,  nor  have  I 
ever  seen  one  that  presents  as  artistic  a.  facade.  Inside, 
of  course,  it  is  quite  the  modern  station,  with  its  bars, 
wickets,  and  innumerable  platforms.  But  outside  it 
is  a  Renaissance  palace,  surprising  in  its  good  taste 
and  decoration. 

One  would  be  very  much  deceived  if  he  expected, 
on  account  of  the  name  of  St.  Louis,  and  because  it  is 
only  a  hundred  years  since  we  sold  it,  to  find  here  a 
half-French  city.  And  one  would  be  equally  disap 
pointed  who  in  approaching  the  Mississippi  should 
call  to  mind  the  Meschacebe  and  the  charming  descrip 
tions  of  the  prologue  to  "Atala":  "On  the  Western 
shore,  wide  plains  spread  out  in  the  far  distance,  in 
silence  and  repose ;  on  the  opposite  shore,  virgin  forests 
perfumed  with  flowery  trees,  alive  with  strange  beasts 
and  birds  of  every  color.  The  murmuring  of  waves, 
faint  sighs,  gentle  lowings,  soft  cooings,  fill  the  desert 
with  a  delicate  yet  wild  harmony/'  This  is  not  exactly 
the  landscape  that  Europeans  must  expect  to  see  on 
their  way  to  the  St.  Louis  Exposition.  What  they  will 
find,  bordering  the  river  for  a  distance  of  twenty-one 
miles,  is  an  industrial  and  commercial  city  of  seven 
hundred  thousand  souls,  once  shaken  for  a  moment 
in  its  prosperity  by  having  given  its  adherence  to  the 
South  in  the  War  of  Secession,  but  at  the  present 
day  restored  to  the  most  brilliant  prospects.  Highly 
favored  by  its  position  near  the  confluence  of  four  great 
rivers,  it  will  receive  a  new  impulse  from  the  opening 
of  the  Panama  Canal.  Its  flour-mills  and  its  refineries, 
its  breweries,  its  mirror  manufactories,  its  foundries 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  173 

and  other  iron-works,  have  made  it  the  fourth  city  of 
America  in  wealth  and  population.  Its  interest  in  intel 
lectual  culture  and  the  elegance  of  its  architecture  give 
it  an  equally  honorable  rank  in  the  domain  properly 
called  that  of  civilization. 

Once  more  I  gain,  and  at  my  own  expense,  an 
experience  of  the  immensity  of  American  cities.  My 
hotel  being  close  to  the  depot,  and  almost  in  the 
centre  of  the  city,  I  wish  to  go  to  say  mass  at  the 
Sacred  Heart  Convent,  the  Superioress  there  being  a 
sister  of  Bishop  Spalding.  I  am  directed  how  to  reach 
the  place,  and  am  told  the  way  is  so  plain  that  I  shall 
only  have  to  change  cars  once.  I  start  in  all  confidence, 
but  only  arrive  at  my  destination  in  an  hour  and  a 
half.  I  am  received  like  one  of  the  family,  and  invited 
to  remain  as  a  guest.  Everything  persuades  me  to 
accept  this  hospitality, —  the  cordiality  of  the  Mother 
Superior,  the  opportunity  for  an  inside  study  of  a 
very  prosperous  American  convent-school,  as  well  as 
the  beauty  of  the  view,  for  we  are  at  the  limits  of  the 
city,  and  from  the  terrace  can  be  seen  a  magnificent 
extent  of  plain  traversed  by  the  Mississippi  River. 
But  being  able  to  spend  only  two  or  three  days  in  St. 
Louis,  what  could  I  see  of  it  at  such  a  distance?  and 
would  not  all  my  time  be  spent  in  journeying  to  the 
city  and  back  again  ?  One  must  proceed  with  caution. 
The  Mother  Superior  examines  the  addresses  of  the 
persons  and  institutions  which  I  wish  to  see;  three- 
quarters  of  them  are  eliminated  on  account  of  their 
distance,  and  I  shall  begin  with  those  that  are  relatively 
in  this  neighborhood.  Chance  favors  me,  since  by 


174  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

doing  this  the  first  letters  I  shall  present  will  be  for 
Archbishop  Glennon  and  for  the  President  of  the 
Exposition. 

A  half-hour  of  rapid  progress  over  a  very  wide 
drive,  bordered  by  parks,  villas,  fields,  and  hotels, 
brings  me  to  the  house  of  Archbishop  Glennon, 
coadjutor  and  administrator  of  the  diocese  of  which 
he  is  in  fact  the  Archbishop,  Mgr.  Kain,  .the  titular 
Archbishop,  having  been  detained  for  a  month  in 
Baltimore,  suffering  from  an  illness  which  leaves  no 
hope  of  his  recovery,  and  of  which  the  near  issue  is 
only  too  certain.  I  had  not  the  honor  of  knowing 
Archbishop  Glennon,  but  with  the  card  of  introduction 
which  Father  Zahm  had  given  me  to  him,  I  counted 
on  a  friendly  welcome  of  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes.  I 
was,  however,  not  permitted  to  leave  him  until  the  end 
of  my  stay  in  the  city.  To  this  I  objected  strongly,  being 
more  desirous  of  avoiding  indiscretion  and  of  seeing  a 
little  of  the  city  than  of  remaining  in  such  interesting 
company.  But  with  exquisite  tact,  the  Archbishop 
gave  me  to  understand  that  the  indiscretion  would  be 
in  refusing;  and  he  added  that  all  I  wished  to  see 
would  be  shown  me  as  well  by  himself  as  by  another 
guide.  No  one  gave  me  a  better  idea  of  American 
hospitality  than  he.  Elsewhere  I  was  undoubtedly 
as  well  received,  but  it  was  in  the  homes  of  old  friends, 
or  by  friends  of  friends,  and  after  an  invitation ;  here 
I  appear  suddenly  in  the  house  of  a  person  whom  I 
do  not  know,  who  is  very  much  occupied  and 
preoccupied,  and  after  a  few  moments  he  insists  on 


Copyright,  1905,  by  J.  C.  Strauss,  St.  Louis 


ARCHBISHOP  J.  J.   GLENNON 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  175 

keeping  me  with  him,  and  gives  up  to  me  almost  all 
his  time  for  two  whole  days. 

If  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  see  how  an  American 
archbishop  treats  a  foreign  priest,  it  affords  me  still 
greater  interest  to  observe  a  type  of  prelate  that  I 
had  never  met  on  my  side  of  the  water.  The  bluff 
good-nature  of  the  Bishop  of  Rochester,  the  charming 
cleverness  of  Archbishop  Ireland,  the  shining  candor 
of  Archbishop  Kain,  are  not  the  predominating  quali 
ties  of  Archbishop  Glennon.  He  is  very  simple,  but 
distinction  is  his  dominant  trait.  Very  young,  very 
tall,  very  handsome,  very  eloquent,  he  begins  by  so 
astonishing  you,  evidently  without  any  intention  on 
his  own  part,  with  his  external  gifts,  that  you  are 
inclined  to  regard  these  as  excessively  developed. 
Gradually,  however,  his  qualities  of  mind  and  heart 
make  themselves  appreciated,  and  you  yield  to  their 
charm.  During  my  stay  I  perceived  that  he  produces 
the  same  effect  on  everybody ;  and  in  what  I  learned 
of  him  later  I  became  convinced  that  the  Church  in 
America  considers  him  one  of  its  future  glories.  I 
ought  to  have  known  this  beforehand,  from  the  way 
in  which  Father  Zahm  and  Bishop  Spalding  spoke  of 
him.  Let  the  reader  be  less  inattentive,  and  remember 
well  the  name  of  John  J.  Glennon,  now  Archbishop 
of  St.  Louis. 

We  start  after  luncheon  to  see  the  grounds  of  the 
Exposition,  or  "World's  Fair,"  to  be  opened  next 
year  (1904).  As  they  are  to  cover  more  than  twelve 


176  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

hundred  acres,  the  great  buildings  alone  occupying 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  we  are  fortunate  to 
be  allowed  to  drive  about  in  seeing  the  preliminary 
work. 

It  is  well  known  from  whence  came  the  idea  of 
this  international  exhibit.  The  Philadelphia  Exposi 
tion  of  1876  commemorated  the  centenary  of  the 
Proclamation  of  Independence,  and  in  1893  Chicago 
celebrated  the  fourth  centenary  of  the  discovery  of 
America.  The  St.  Louis  fair  is  intended  to  com 
memorate  the  centenary  of  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana. 
On  the  joth  of  April,  1803, tne  United  States,  repre 
sented  by  James  Monroe,  delegate  of  President 
Jefferson,  and  himself  a  future  president,  bought  at 
Paris,  from  Bonaparte,  the  First  Consul,  for  the  sum 
of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  a  territory  which  now  is 
worth  in  taxable  property  sixty-six  hundred  million, 
embraces  a  territory  over  twice  as  great  as  Germany 
and  France  united,  and,  extending  from  the  Mississippi 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  two  and  a  half  times  as  great  as  the  whole 
original  thirteen  colonies,  and  forming  to-day  a  fourth 
part  of  the  great  Republic.  Had  that  purchase  not 
occurred,  it  is  probable  that  England,  in  its  wars  against 
Napoleon,  would  have  seized  and  kept  the  French 
colonies,  and  thus  the  United  States  would  not  have 
become  what  they  are  to-day.  Americans  make  no 
mistake  in  regarding  this  as  the  greatest  fact  of  their 
history  after  the  Proclamation  of  Independence,  and 
we  can  well  understand  why  they  wish  to  celebrate  the 
remembrance  of  it.  In  the  life  of  even  the  freest 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  177 

people  there  comes  a  moment  when  the  decision  of 
their  rulers  affects  the  future  of  the  whole  nation. 
The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  had  not 
contemplated  the  acquisition  of  foreign  territory,  and 
Jefferson  had  given  to  his  envoy  nothing  more  than  a 
commission  to  obtain  for  the  American  flag  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  harbor  rights  at  New 
Orleans.  When  Bonaparte,  who  then  had  great  need 
of  money,  and  found  himself  unprepared  to  defend 
Louisiana  against  England,  suddenly  offered  to  sell 
the  whole  of  it  for  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  the 
American  representatives  had  no  time  to  consult  their 
government.  They  concluded  the  affair  on  their  own 
responsibility.  President  Jefferson  did  likewise;  he 
forgot  the  Constitution,  approved  the  initiative  of  his 
envoys,  and  asked  Congress  for  a  ratification,  which 
was  granted  without  objection.  On  the  twentieth  of 
December  of  the  same  year,  the  French  colors  which 
floated  over  the  Cabildo,  the  palace  of  the  Governor 
of  New  Orleans,  were  replaced  by  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
The  officer  to  whom  the  French  flag  was  handed 
wrapped  it  about  him  like  a  scarf,  and  walked  away 
without  saying  a  word,  followed  by  a  sorrowful  throng. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory  then  numbered 
a  hundred  thousand;  they  are  now  fifteen  to  twenty 
million,  a  quarter  of  them  belonging  to  the  black  race. 
Not  one  out  of  a  hundred  now  understands  the  French 
language.  New  Orleans,  which  was  then  the  most 
important  and  almost  the  only  city,  although  its  popu 
lation  has  increased  to  three  hundred  thousand,  occu 
pies  only  the  second  place,  St.  Louis  being  twice  as 


178  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

large.  These  reminiscences  and  reflections  are  not 
without  a  sadness  for  us.  Americans,  however,  have 
not  the  same  feeling  about  it ;  and  it  must  be  under 
stood  that  it  is  without  any  unkind  feeling  that,  in  their 
discourses,  their  pictures,  and  their  monuments,  they 

honor  at  the  same  time  Napoleon   and  Jefferson,   the 

two  contracting  parties  of  1803. 

The  initiative  of  this  commemoration  was  taken  in 
1898  by  the  Historical  Society  of  Missouri.  At  their 
suggestion,  and  in  answer  to  the  public  wish,  the  gov 
ernor  of  the  State  convoked  for  the  tenth  of  January 
of  the  following  year,  at  St.  Louis,  delegates  from  the 
twelve  States  and  the  two  Territories  comprised  in  the 
former  Province  of  Louisiana.  The  assembly  decided 
unanimously  that  an  International  Exposition  was  the 
most  impressive  and  most  fitting  way  of  celebrating 
the  great  anniversary.  It  named  an  executive  com 
mittee  under  the  presidency  of  the  Hon.  David 
Francis,  formerly  Mayor  of  St.  Louis,  later  Governor 
of  Missouri,  and  Secretary  of  the  Interior  under  Cleve 
land.  The  committee  added  to  itself  fifteen  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  St.  Louis,  and  immediately  set  to 
work  to  collect  the  necessary  funds.  The  sum  needed 
was  fifteen  millions  of  dollars;1  this  was,  by  an  inten 
tional  coincidence,  not  wanting  in  fitness,  being  the 
price  paid  for  the  whole  of  Louisiana.  The  national 
government  and  the  municipality  were  each  to  contrib 
ute  a  third,  and  this  they  did  with  a  good  grace.  The 
other  third  was  to  be  given  by  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis: 
in  a  single  meeting,  held  at  the  Music  Hall,  they  sub- 

1  This  was  an  advance  estimate.      The  final  cost  was  $50,000,000. —  [PUBRS.] 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  179 

scribed  four  millions  of  dollars;  and  then  it  became 
easy  to  find  the  final  million.  Since  then,  Congress 
has  voted  a  million  and  a  half  dollars  for  the  Govern 
ment  exhibit;  the  different  States  of  the  Union  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  foreign  countries  participat 
ing  have  also  opened  credits  for  their  special  works, 
so  that  the  expenditure  has  already  reached  formidable 
proportions. 

The  result  appears  likely  to  correspond  to  the 
extent  of  the  effort.  Even  in  the  condition  in  which 
I  see  them,  almost  a  year  before  the  opening  of  the 
Exposition,  the  buildings  alone  prove  the  magnificence 
that  is  to  come.  I  envy  those  who  will  see  as  a  fin 
ished  work,  in  a  half-circle  around  the  central  basin 
and  grand  cascades,  modelled  after  St.  Cloud,  so  many 
architectural  marvels.  I  should  like  to  find,  as  they 
will  in  the  immensity  of  Forest  Park,  palaces  of  all 
styles  and  all  epochs, —  for  example,  that  of  France, 
which  will  reproduce  the  Grand  Trianon,  or  the  Rhine 
Castle  to  be  built  by  Germany ;  and  I  should  also  like 
to  walk  in  the  ideal  garden  of  fifty  thousand  rose 
bushes  in  bloom,  in  which  are  to  be  represented  in 
distinct  fashion  every  State  of  the  Union,  with  the 
form  and  color  of  its  products, — the  vines  and  fruits 
of  California,  the  cotton  of  Texas,  the  pineapples  and 
orange-trees  of  Florida. 

But  the  Exposition  will  not  tend  principally  to 
dazzle  or  even  to  charm  the  visitors.  It  is,  above  all, 
destined  to  instruct  them ;  it  will  be  educational, 
according  to  the  idea  which  in  America  dominates  all 
others.  I  do  not  know  whether  that  end  will  be 


180  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

attained,  but  at  least  it  is  what  the  organizers  aim  at. 
It  is  the  dominant  note  of  the  innumerable  notices  and 
prospectuses  which  they  have  published.  Thanks  to 
the  presence  of  Archbishop  Glennon, —  whom  every 
body  seems  to  know  already,  although  it  is  only  a  year 
since  he  left  the  diocese  of  Kansas  City,  where  he  was 
coadjutor, —  I  had  the  advantage  of  being  immediately 
presented,  without  using  my  letters  of  introduction,  to 
President  Francis  and  to  his  principal  associates.  All, 
without  exception,  insist  on  that  element  of  the  Fair 
which  I  have  just  now  mentioned.  Even  in  the  most 
material  order,  it  concerns  them  less  to  show  manu 
factured  products  than  the  process  of  fabrication.  One 
can,  for  example,  follow  the  mineral,  from  the  time 
of  its  extraction,  into  the  foundry,  and  can  even  watch 
the  crude  ore,  which  one  has  seen  an  hour  before 
attacked  by  the  pick-axe  of  the  miner  in  the  subter 
ranean  gallery,  until  it  is  fashioned  into  an  ingot.  In 
the  Transportation  section,  one  will  not  be  shown  new 
locomotives  with  empty  boilers  and  cold  fire-grates, 
but  engines  driven  by  the  same  motive-power  and 
pulling  in  contrary  directions  on  the  same  steel  cable 
until  one  overcomes  the  other  and  draws  it  beyond  a 
fixed  mark.  In  the  Educational  section,  all  the  school 
materials  will  be  manufactured  under  the  eyes  of  the 
visitor;  the  cedar-wood  and  graphite  will  be  trans 
formed  into  pencils  before  him.  One  can  see  books 
through  the  stages  when  their  type  is  set,  when  their 
pages  are  printed,  folded,  sewed,  and  bound.  All  that 
concerns  the  physical  development  of  man, —  gymnas 
tics,  boating,  swimming,  flying,  fencing,  tennis,  ball, 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  181 

polo,  athletic  games  and  sports  of  every  kind,  —  will 
be  exploited  in  the  way  to  be  expected  from  Ameri 
cans.  This  special  exhibition  will  take  place  in  the 
fields  and  stadia  which  are  destined  for  the  future  use 
of  Washington  University,  and  to  which  larger  uses 
will  be  given,  since  they  are  to  be  preserved  perma 
nently.  The  gymnasium  is  182  feet  long  by  94  feet 
wide,  and  cost  $ 7 50,000;  the  field  reserved  for  the 
Olympian  games  is  760  feet  long. 

The  Educational  section,  properly  so-called,  is  the 
first  in  order  of  classification,  conformably  to  the  theory 
on  which  the  Exposition  is  founded.  The  building 
which  is  destined  for  it,  although  only  a  temporary 
one,  will  cover  between  five  and  six  acres.1  The  first 
department  will  comprise  high  schools.  Two  other 
departments  comprise  the  higher  education  of  col 
leges,  universities,  lyceums,  normal  schools,  libraries, 
museums,  conservatories  of  music,  schools  of  the  fine 
arts,  and  of  arts  and  crafts.  The  managers  will  not 
neglect  schools  of  agriculture,  or  model  farms,  or 
schools  of  forestry ;  but  they  will  give  chief  attention 
to  industrial  and  technical  schools,  believing  that  a 
country's  supremacy,  in  a  matter  of  such  prime  impor 
tance,  "depends  wholly  on  the  methods  employed  to 
prepare  a  citizen  to  be  able  to  meet  the  many  changes 
which  are  continually  occurring  in  the  processes  of 
manufacture."  The  great  concern  of  educators,  in  this 
order  of  things,  should  be,  not  to  teach  the  young 
man  in  advance  what  are  the  best  solutions  and  the 

1  The  actual  dimensions  of  this  building,   as  finally  completed,  were  750x525 
feet,  making  a  total  area  of  nine  acres. —  [PUBRS.] 


182  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

best  methods,  since  none  are  absolute  and  permanent, 
but  rather  to  qualify  him  to  discover  for  himself  what 
will  best  suit  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  likely 
to  find  himself. 

The  national  and  international  Congresses  will  be, 
as  at  Chicago  and  Paris,  one  of  the  attractions  of  the 
Exposition.  All  wishing  to  meet  at  St.  Louis  can 
obtain  the  places  necessary  for  their  assemblies  gratui 
tously  ;  and  in  relation  to  this  I  will  also  note,  as  an 
appreciable  advantage  over  what  has  happened  else 
where,  that  none  of  the  exhibitors  will  have  to  pay  for 
the  room  they  need.  One  last  detail :  the  Democratic 
Convention  for  choosing  a  candidate  of  that  party  for 
the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  having  decided  to 
meet  at  St.  Louis,  visitors  there  will  be  able  to  follow 
closely  one  of  the  principal  events  in  the  political  life 
of  the  Republic. 

The  Exhibition  itself  will  open  on  the  joth  of 
April,  1904.  The  3Oth  of  April,  1903,  one  century 
to  a  day  since  the  conclusion  of  the  famous  contract 
of  sale,  the  preparatory  labors  of  the  Exposition 
were  inaugurated  —  I  was  about  to  say  blessed.  The 
ceremony,  presided  over  by  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
the  United  States,  and  attended  by  the  highest  func 
tionaries  of  the  Republic,  began  with  prayer ;  and 
Cardinal  Gibbons,  chosen  by  preference  from  the  rep 
resentatives  of  all  other  creeds,  invoked  Heaven  in  the 
name  of  the  American  people. 

On  the  day  before  this  ceremony,  there  occurred 
one  of  those  incidents  which  are  thought  quite  natural 
in  the  United  States,  but  with  us  would  produce  no 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  183 

small  sensation.  There  was  a  public  debate  on  ques 
tions  of  theology  at  the  Catholic  University  of  St. 
Louis,  directed  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  at  which  Car 
dinal  Gibbons  presided.  Before  the  arguments  began, 
a  distinguished-looking  personage  made  his  entrance 
with  an  escort  of  civil  and  military  officers.  It  was  the 
President  of  the  Republic.  He  hastened,  in  the  midst 
of  cheering,  to  take  his  seat  beside  the  Cardinal,  and  to 
press  his  hand.  Saluted  by  a  complimentary  speech 
of  the  Rector,  he  pronounced,  in  his  own  sympathetic 
and  vibrant  voice,  the  following  response : 

"  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Reverend  Father,  and  gentle 
men  :  It  is  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me  to  be  the  guest 
of  the  first  and  oldest  University  built  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  on  the  territory  of  Louisiana.  I  know 
your  work;  I  have  been  a  witness  of  its  progress  in 
the  West.  I  have  not  only  seen  it  among  our  own 
people,  but  also  in  the  midst  of  the  Indian  tribes.  I 
thank  you  for  what  you  have  said  about  myself.  I 
should  have  considered  myself  violating  the  principles 
of  my  duty,  had  I  failed  in  observing  the  provisions 
of  our  Constitution,  which  enjoin  upon  us  to  treat  all 
citizens  alike,  without  regard  to  the  manner  in  which 
they  choose  to  adore  Almighty  God.  I  think  that 
your  pleasure  in  seeing  me  among  you  is  exceeded  by 
that  which  I  feel  in  finding  myself  here/' 

The  President  followed  the  developments  of  the 
thesis  and  discussion  with  marked  attention.  We  must 
add,  however,  that  when  he  was  called  upon  in  his  turn 
to  offer  objections,  he  preferred  to  excuse  himself. 

This  was  not  at  all  an  exceptional  incident.     As 


1 84  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Mr.  Roosevelt  continued  his  journey  beyond  St.  Louis, 
on  his  way  to  Denver  in  Colorado,  the  Governor  of 
Kansas,  who  was  travelling  with  him,  having  told  him 
that  they  were  to  pass  near  another  Jesuit  College, — 
St.  Marie,  —  and  that  his  visit  was  greatly  wished  for, 
he  stopped  the  train  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  college, 
and  left  it  to  say  a  few  words  of  encouragement  and 
sympathy  to  the  pupils  and  teachers.  The  rights  are 
the  same  in  the  United  States  for  every  individual  and 
every  group  of  citizens,  whatever  may  be  their  creed. 
"  Envy,  malice,  hatred,"  President  Roosevelt  has 
said  before  a  very  different  audience,1  "  are  quite  as  bad 
when  they  are  directed  against  a  class  or  a  group  of 
men,  as  when  against  an  individual.  What  we  ask 
of  our  leaders  and  educators  is  to  help  us  to  suppress 
sentiments  directly  opposed  to  them.  Woe  to  us  as  a 
nation,  if  we  follow  the  direction  of  men  who  seek,  not 
to  suppress,  but  to  excite  the  qualities  of  the  wild  beast 
in  the  human  heart.  In  political  reform  we  can  only 
carry  out  a  healthy  work,  a  work  worthy  of  a  free 
Republic,  worthy  of  a  democracy  which  governs  itself, 
by  walking  in  the  footsteps  of  Washington,  of  Frank 
lin,  of  Adams,  and  of  Patrick  Henry,  and  not  in  the 
steps  of  Marat  and  Robespierre." 

Doctrines  of  hatred  are  unknown  in  the  United 
States. 

Returning  from   the   Exposition  grounds   to  the 
house  of  the  Archbishop,  we  pass  by  the  Monastery 

1  Discourse  given  in  New  York  before  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
(Protestant)  3Oth  of  December,  1900. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  185 

of  the  Visitation.  I  confide  to  Archbishop  Glennon 
certain  family  ties  that  unite  me  to  this  order,  and  we 
cross  the  grille.  The  welcome  is  full  of  cordiality, 
filial  toward  the  prelate,  fraternal  toward  me.  We 
pass  a  very  delightful  hour.  I  have  seen  the  monas 
tery  in  France  in  which  my  sister  lived,  and  I  found 
no  appreciable  difference.  The  contemplative  orders 
are,  and  ought  to  be,  everywhere  the  same.  The 
happy  lives  which  are  spent  in  familiar  intercourse 
with  God  have  no  need  of  change ;  there  is  only  one 
attitude  possible  for  them,  which  is  to  love  Him  and 
to  tell  Him  so.  It  is  in  working  outside  that  it  is 
necessary  to  adapt  our  work  to  external  conditions. 

The  Archbishop  talks  to  me,  while  we  are  finishing 
our  walk,  about  the  prosperity  of  the  religious  orders 
in  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis.  There  are  no  less  than 
eight  mother  houses  for  the  congregations  of  women, 
of  which  five  are  in  the  city.  Out  of  442  priests, 
there  are  1 74  who  belong  to  the  orders,  among  them 
93  Jesuits.  There  is  only  one  seminary  for  the 
diocesan  clergy,  with  83  students;  but  there  are  six, 
with  324  students,  for  the  congregations  of  men,  the 
Company  of  Jesus  possessing  by  itself  alone  as  many 
as  128  young  scholastics.  The  proportion  varies 
greatly  in  different  dioceses.  In  consulting  the  Catho 
lic  Directory,  I  find,  for  example,  in  Baltimore,  192 
secular  priests  for  204  religionists;  in  New  York,  528 
for  226;  in  Chicago,  446  for  173;  in  Peoria,  146  for 
40;  in  St.  Paul,  220  for  38.  Rochester  counts  136 
secular  priests  and  six  religionists  only. 

In  everything  except  in  discipline,  which  is  ruled 


1 86  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

by  the  general  law  of  the  Church  or  by  the  national 
councils  in  Baltimore,  the  dioceses  of  America  may 
differ ;  the  resemblance,  for  example,  is  not  great,  from 
a  material  point  of  view,  between  the  opulent  arch 
diocese  of  St.  Louis  and  the  poor  diocese  of  Wichita, 
recently  founded  in  Kansas  by  Bishop  Hennessy,  a 
simple  and  courageous  apostle  whom  we  met  on  return 
ing  to  the  house,  and  with  whom  we  had  the  pleasure 
of  finishing  the  day.  Charged  with  this  diocese  in 
1888,  a  year  after  it  was  instituted,  he  has  had  to 
create  everything  in  it.  We  remember  that  Bishop 
Mac  Quaid  and  Bishop  Spalding  had  the  same  thing 
to  do ;  and  thus  it  happens  that  three  out  of  the  four 
bishops  already  met  have  been  founders  of  their 
churches.  Is  anything  more  needed  to  make  us  feel 
ourselves  in  a  new  country?  The  diocese  of  Wichita 
has  had  sixteen  years  of  existence;  it  includes  70 
priests  and  25,450  faithful,  112  churches,  5  hospitals, 
29  parish  schools.  Alongside  of  that  is  the  older 
diocese  of  Kansas  City,  which  began  in  1880  and  still 
has  its  first  bishop.  Already  it  counts  95  priests,  104 
churches,  15  ecclesiastical  students,  40  parish  schools, 
10  academies  for  young  ladies,  and  5  hospitals,  with  a 
Catholic  population  of  52,000  souls.  This  is  evidently 
not  the  prosperity  of  the  great  dioceses  of  the  East; 
but  we  must  agree  that  in  order  to  create  all  this,  with 
out  any  previous  help,  in  countries  where  very  often 
the  civil  life  itself  is  only  on  the  way  to  organization, 
there  is  needed  no  small  amount  of  initiative,  intelli 
gence,  and  religious  zeal.  Bishop  Hennessy  is  quite 
willing  to  enter  a  little  into  the  details  of  his  labors, 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  187 

his  foundations,  and  his  projects,  his  hopes  and  his 
difficulties.  There  would  seem  to  be,  from  all  that  he 
tells  me,  enough  obstacles  to  overwhelm  any  other 
soul  than  that  of  an  apostle  and  an  American.  And 
yet  how  many  French  bishops,  how  many  French 
priests,  might  envy  the  fate  of  these  valiant  pioneers ! 
They  have  everything  to  do,  no  doubt,  but  they  have 
liberty  to  do  it;  they  do  not  feel  their  hands  bound 
by  either  vexatious  laws  or  suspicious  prejudices,  or 
by  customs  long  since  obsolete.  They  do  all  that  is 
necessary  to  succeed,  and  they  do  succeed,  practising  by 
instinct  and  everywhere  the  motto  of  Bishop  Mac- 
Quaid,  Salus  animarum  lex  suprema.  Happy  are  the  new 
countries,  and  happy  those  countries  which  renew  them 
selves  !  But  still  more  happy  —  for  age  counts  for 
nothing — are  the  countries,  the  institutions,  and  the 
men  who  know  how  to  place  themselves,  or  to  replace 
themselves,  in  the  natural  condition  of  things,  to  adapt 
themselves  simply  to  facts ! 

After  dinner  we  go  to  spend  the  evening  with  one 
of  the  few  families  of  French  origin  still  remaining  in 
St.  Louis.  The  Archbishop  and  the  Bishop  are  wel 
comed  as  friends  of  the  family,  with  that  mingling  of 
respect,  familiarity,  and  above  all,  pleasure,  that  I  have 
never  failed  to  observe,  during  the  whole  of  my  jour 
ney,  in  the  relations  of  American  Catholics  with  their 
clergy.  They  wish  to  treat  me  as  a  compatriot,  or  as 
the  compatriot  of  their  ancestors;  and  so  everyone 
begins  to  speak  French,  from  the  grandmother,  whose 
father  has  seen  the  day  of  our  domination  in  America, 
to  the  charming  grandson,  who  does  not  need  to  be 


1 88  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

persuaded  to  interrupt  a  very  laborious  Latin  theme 
in  our  honor  (I  shall  give  him  presently  a  helping 
hand  which  will  make  up  for  lost  time).  This  gracious 
desire  of  transmitting  from  one  generation  to  another 
the  knowledge  of  the  mother-tongue  is  at  this  day  the 
only  trait  which  distinguishes  the  Louisianians  of  French 
origin ;  beside,  it  is  met  with,  as  is  natural,  only  in  fami 
lies  of  superior  social  position.  This  mixture  of  two 
cultures,  French  and  American,  also  confers  on  them 
a  character  of  distinction  and  energy  which  renders 
them,  it  seems  to  me,  decidedly  superior. 

We  speak  of  France,  and  we  speak  of  Mexico, 
where  these  friends  have  just  made  a  stay  of  several 
months.  New  horizons  are  opened  to  me  with  regard 
to  unknown  customs  and  countries.  An  interesting 
journey  one  could  make  among  the  tropical  vege 
tation  of  the  terre  chaude^  or  even  in  the  terre  froide, 
near  volcanoes  surrounded  by  snow  which  answer  to  the 
picturesque  names  of  Ixtaccihuatl  and  Popocatepetl, 
but  beyond  all  in  the  temperate  zone,  where,  at  an 
elevation  of  ten  thousand  feet,  yet  in  an  exquisite 
climate,  Mexico  unfolds  its  modern  riches  and  its 
souvenirs  of  the  times  of  the  Aztecs.  And  the  race 
would  not  present  less  interest,  with  its  mixture 
of  Spanish  and  native  blood,  with  the  half-civilized 
Indians  who  have  existed  more  numerously  there  than 
in  any  other  part  of  America,  and  still  are  very  near, 
in  spite  of  their  baptism,  to  what  they  were  before  the 
discovery.  How  have  they  survived,  when  all  others 
have  disappeared?  I  should  like  to  attribute  it  to  the 
virtues  of  the  conquering  people ;  but  it  might  also 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  189 

come  from  the  fact  that  the  difference  between  them 
was  not  so  very  great.... We  know  that  the  Mexicans 
were  the  most  advanced  of  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  America. 

That  night  I  dreamed  of  Cortez  and  Montezuma, 
of  volcanoes,  cocoanut-trees,  precious  woods,  and  mag 
nificent  brigands,  of  whom  we  do  not  exactly  know 
whether  they  are  Spaniards  or  Chichimecs.  And  an 
absurd  regret  seized  me, —  which  all  will  understand  who 
have  travelled  long  distances ;  it  was,  that  I  must  miss 
seeing  Mexico,  despite  the  fact  of  being  only  two 
thousand  miles  away  from  it. 

I  have  forgotten  to  say  that  the  Superior  of  the 
College  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  having  called  to 
see  Archbishop  Glennon,  had  cleverly  profited  by  my 
presence  to  arrange  for  a  visit  by  the  Archbishop  to 
his  young  people.  It  was  very  important — was  it 
not?  —  to  give  a  professor  of  the  Catholic  Institute 
of  Paris  an  idea  of  what  an  American  college  could 
be  ?  We  were  to  set  out  the  next  day  at  half-past 
eleven  o'clock.  I  wished  in  the  morning  to  make  a 
visit  to  the  other  side  of  St.  Louis.  I  started  without 
misgiving,  and  really  at  a  tolerably  early  hour;  but  it 
was  so  far  that  at  the  end  of  an  hour  of  car  travel,  not 
arriving  at  the  seemingly  impossible  address  which  my 
letter  bore,  I  was  obliged  through  prudence  to  retrace 
my  steps  in  order  not  to  miss  keeping  the  engagement 
I  had  made.  The  incident  has  no  special  interest, 
but  it  may  impress  on  the  reader  the  sensation  of  the 
American  city.  This  almost  useless  excursion  made 


190  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

me  pass  twice  through  the  business  quarter,  with  its 
high  buildings,  such  as  are  in  all  the  great  centres.  I 
rejoined  the  Archbishop  early  enough  to  enable  us  to 
arrive  at  the  Brothers'  College  exactly  at  noon.  The 
Children  of  St.  Jean  Baptiste  de  la  Salle,  according  to 
statistics  now  two  years  old,  have  in  the  two  Americas 
182  establishments  with  923  classes,  1,414  brothers, 
and  more  than  46,000  pupils.  Even  this  number  of 
Brothers  does  not  suffice  to  meet  all  the  demands  that 
are  made  on  them.  Of  this  working  force,  two-thirds 
belong  to  the  United  States. 

"It  is,"  said  Baron  de  Courcel,  our  former  Ambassador  to  Lon 
don,  in  a  report,  March  13,  1902,  "in  the  United  States  of  North 
America  principally  that  the  work  of  the  Brothers  has  been  fruitful 
and  has  increased.  There  they  have  found  a  field  of  labor  which 
is  entirely  propitious  to  their  development, —  liberal  laws,  a  popula 
tion  which  is  utilitarian,  and  which  does  not  believe  that  civilization, 
morality,  and  true  intellectual  culture  can  be  departed  from ;  in  a 
word,  a  Republic  strong  enough  to  show  itself  equitably  generous 
toward  all,  sufficiently  raised  above  mean  passions  to  have  no  fear  of 
the  rivalry  of  private  associations,  especially  when  they  are  formed 
among  men  who  unite  together  only  to  do  good.  Under  these 
favorable  conditions,  the  work  of  the  Brothers,  as  soon  as  they  set 
foot  upon  this  land  of  liberty,  is  sure  to  succeed.  It  spreads  itself 
out  in  numerous  and  diverse  foundations,  conforming  itself  with 
remarkable  ease  to  the  varying  needs  of  an  industrious  and  inventive 
nation,  eager  to  work,  tenacious  of  commercial  success." 

The  adaptation  of  which  M.  de  Courcel  here  speaks 
had  gone  to  the  extent  of  uniting  the  teaching  of  the 
classics  with  the  primary  studies  and  modern  sciences, 
wherever  the  bishops  and  people  had  expressed  a  desire 
for  it.  A  few  years  ago,  a  decision  from  Rome,  and 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  191 

from  the  Superior  General  in  Paris,  authoritatively  for 
bade  combinations  of  this  kind,  and  suppressed  those 
that  already  existed.  The  college  which  we  visited 
was  one  of  the  number  of  these  in  which  Greek  and 
Latin  were  formerly  studied.  It  therefore  counts 
among  its  former  pupils  many  members  of  the  clergy, 
of  Congress,  and  of  the  army.  General  Merritt,  who 
distinguished  himself  in  the  Philippine  war,  was  edu 
cated  there.  Even  after  this  mutilation,  the  Brothers* 
College  still  counts  more  than  four  hundred  pupils. 
It  has  received  by  charter,  from  the  State  of  Missouri, 
the  privilege  of  conferring  University  degrees.  Three 
departments  are  organized  there,  —  the  scientific,  hav 
ing  for  ratification  the  diploma  of  a  civil  engineer;  the 
business,  having  as  ratification  a  commercial  diploma; 
and,  finally,  the  modern  humanities,  which  lead  to  the 
baccalaureate  of  arts.  The  results  of  this  teaching, 
and  of  the  training  which  is  joined  to  it,  are  very 
greatly  appreciated  by  the  Catholics  of  St.  Louis,  and 
even  by  a  certain  number  of  Protestants  who  send 
their  sons  to  the  college  without  misgiving.  I  have 
noticed  this  feature  in  all  the  Catholic  educational 
establishments  that  I  have  visited;  the  families  being, 
for  that  matter,  informed  in  advance  that  no  pressure 
will  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  consciences  of  their 
sons  or  daughters,  but  that  they  will  be  required,  with 
all  the  others,  to  share  in  the  religious  exercises. 

The  college  is  magnificently  situated,  at  Cote 
Brilliante,  at  the  gates  of  St.  Louis,  we  should 
say,  if  American  cities  had  gates.  Cote  Brilliante  is 
one  of  the  names,  slightly  transformed,  which  bear 


192  IN    THE   LAND  OF 

witness  to  its  French  origin.  Even  more  than  by 
this  uncertain  orthography,  our  patriotism  is  flattered 
by  finding  among  the  Brothers  and  their  pupils  the 
best  traditions  and  usages  of  France.1  Our  language, 
however,  does  not  seem  to  be  familiar  to  the  majority 
of  the  students. 

At  the  end  of  the  rather  formal  reception  which  is 
given  to  us  under  the  central  dome,  when  the  trumpet 
has  blown  its  notes  of  welcome,  when  a  pupil  has  made 
his  complimentary  address,  when  the  Archbishop  has 
responded  by  an  eloquent  discourse,  my  turn  having 
come  to  speak,  I  timidly  inquire  whether  I  shall  speak 
in  bad  English  or  in  passable  French.  English  is  called 
for  without  hesitation.  And,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  like 
that  just  as  well ;  faults  are  more  pardonable  in  a  for 
eign  language.  For  the  rest,  all  is  forgotten  —  the 
charming  eloquence  of  the  young  Archbishop,  and 
the  solecisms  of  his  companion  —  in  the  formidable 
clamor  that  at  a  given  signal  rises  three  times  from  all  the 
ranks,  and  mounts  with  deafening  noise  into  the  cupola, 
which  it  seems  might  crumble  from  the  sound.  "Who 
are  we?  C.  B.  C.!"  "Who  are  we?  C.  B.  C.!" 
"Who  are  we?  C.  B.  C.!"  —  the  initials  standing  for 
Christian  Brothers'  College.  In  France  also  many 
establishments  have  similar  cries,  and  the  ears  that 
have  once  heard  them  are  not  likely  to  forget. 

After  breakfast,  we  look  for  a  few  minutes  at  the 
immense  playground ;  the  pupils  put  to  good  use  the 

1  The  greater  part  of  the  Christian  Brothers  teaching  in  the  United  States  have 
been  born  there  and  formed  in  religion.  The  society  possesses  four  provinces,  each 
one  having  its  own  novitiate,  —  Baltimore,  New  York,  St.  Louis,  and  San  Francisco. 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  193 

holiday  which  the  Archbishop's  visit  has  granted  them ; 
and  being  pressed  for  time,  we  take  the  electric  car  to 
go  far  from  here  to  the  Grand  Seminary.  It  is  only 
half-past  two.  We  buy  the  first  edition  of  the  evening 
journals ;  the  reception  at  noon  is  recounted,  with  a 
very  complete  summary  of  the  speeches  made.  The 
lady  reporters  whom  they  had  shown  me  at  the  entrance 
to  the  hall  have  lost  no  time. 

The  Grand  Seminary,  which  comprises  eighty-four 
students,  is  directed  by  the  priests  of  the  Mission, 
most  of  them  French.  But  there  also  it  is  not  our 
language  which  is  spoken ;  and  in  the  hall  in  which 
they  have  collected  all  the  pupils,  I  am  obliged,  after 
the  Archbishop  has  spoken,  to  improvise  a  second 
address  in  approximate  English.  He  who  really 
dreads  speaking  in  public  should  never  travel  in  the 
United  States.  One  is  perpetually  under  the  menace 
of  delivering  a  speech,  and  any  attempt  to  escape  from 
it  would  be  as  ill  received  as  a  refusal  to  take  a  glass 
of  wine  in  the  house  of  a  French  peasant.  As  the 
blow  generally  falls  at  the  moment  when  one  least 
expects  it, —  at  the  end  of  a  very  tranquil  repast,  or 
during  a  visit  to  a  school  or  university, —  it  would  be 
impossible  to  get  out  of  the  difficulties  were  it  not  for 
the  resource,  always  available,  of  first  excusing  one's  self 
on  account  of  an  insufficient  knowledge  of  the  lan 
guage,  and  meanwhile  casting  about  for  some  subject 
to  talk  about.  I  had  not,  however,  any  trouble  in  find 
ing  what  I  wished  to  say  to  the  Seminarians  of  St. 
Louis,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  if  I  had  been  able  to 
express  myself  without  difficulty  I  should,  from  sheer 


i94  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

conviction,  have  spoken  with  eloquence  of  the  splendid 
mission  which  awaits  them  as  future  priests,  of  the 
wide  possibilities  which  they  will  have  for  doing  good 
in  this  great  and  free  country,  and  of  the  consolation 
and  encouragement  which  they  will  give  to  their  broth 
ers  of  less  favored  lands. 

I  am  now  going  to  close  this  chapter  with  a  few 
criticisms.  Some  Europeans,  indeed,  may  reproach  me 
with  being  too  eulogistic ;  they  forget  that  to  speak  of 
the  praiseworthy  things  one  has  seen  is  not  to  deny 
the  existence  of  objectionable  things  which  have  not 
been  sought  for,  and,  being  quite  negative,  would 
hardly  have  been  of  use  as  examples.  Thus,  I  con 
fided  to  Archbishop  Glennon,  on  leaving  the  Grand 
Seminary,  the  painful  impression  which  has  been  made 
on  me  by  the  sight  of  the  buildings,  the  narrow  halls, 
the  court  devoid  of  grass,  and  the  generally  wretched 
condition  of  the  place  where  the  clergy  of  this  great 
diocese  are  trained;  while  all  the  other  establishments 
rejoice  in  the  light,  in  the  open  air,  in  a  healthy  pros 
perity.  The  Archbishop  was  all  the  more  ready  to 
listen  to  the  expression  of  these  regrets,  because  he 
himself  feels  them,  and  is  resolved  to  remove  their 
cause.  He  explained  to  me  that  this  convent,  an  old 
one  of  the  Visitandines,  has  been  adapted  as  well  as 
could  be  to  the  needs  of  the  Grand  Seminary,  but  that 
this  state  of  things  is  not  to  last.  Now  that  he  has  full 
.authority,  I  am  sure  that  one  of  the  first  uses  he  will 
make  of  it  will  be  to  remove  his  future  priests  from  a 


THE    STRENUOUS   LIFE  195 

lodging  which  is  at  best  only  suitable  for  our  poor 
dioceses  of  Europe.  To  quit  old  buildings  for  new 
ones,  without  changing  in  the  smallest  degree  the 
foundation  of  doctrines  taught  there,  is  what  the 
Church  has  done  in  more  than  one  case,  morally  and 
materially,  during  her  long  existence;  and  it  is  what 
she  will  continue  to  do.  There  are  people  within  her 
fold  who  are  unwilling  to  acknowledge  this;  but  there 
are  others  who  are  proud  of  it,  seeing  in  this  a  strong 
proof  that,  thanks  to  her  living  authority,  she  holds 
the  just  balance  between  the  ever-shifting  Protestant 
religion  and  the  sleepy  immobility  of  the  Eastern 
schismatics. 


196  IN   THE    LAND    OF 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    CITY    OF    IRON    AND    FIRE 

Returning  to  the  East. —  In  the  Manufacturing  Districts. —  St. 
'Jerome  and  Pittsburg. — Andrew  Carnegie. —  His  Appren 
ticeship. —  His  Social  Ideas. —  His  Gospel  of  Wealth. — A 
Well-Bred  Frenchman. —  The  Electric  Works  of  Nesting- 
house  and  the  Forges  of  Carnegie. —  How  Masters  and  In 
ventors  are  Formed. —  With  a  Business  Man. —  Nocturnal 
Reporting. — A  Club  on  the  Twenty  -  second  Story. — A 
Dantesque  Scene. — Through  Pennsylvania  by  Rail. — Irregu 
larity  of  the  Trains. — An  Invitation  to  Baltimore. 

T  LEAVE  St.  Louis  at  a  quarter-past  eight  in  the 
evening,  travelling  by  night  in  order  to  save  time, 
my  destination,  Pittsburg,  being  623  miles  distant. 
To-morrow  we  shall  put  our  watches  ahead  an  hour. 
We  are  returning  to  the  Atlantic  coast;  and  we  must 
leave  unvisited  Colorado,  Arizona,  California,  the  mar 
vels  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  Slope. 
It  is  tantalizing,  having  travelled  over  a  quarter  of 
the  globe,  to  be  obliged  to  retrace  one's  steps  when  it 
would  be  so  simple  to  continue  the  journey  by  the 
other  ocean  to  Japan  and  China,  or  by  the  Indies  and 
the  Trans-Siberian  railway. 

However,  without  heeding  my  regrets,  the  efficient 
negro  transforms  our  Pullman  car  into  a  sleeping- 
compartment,  and  makes  me  realize  that,  though 
leaving  the  Pacific  behind  us,  we  are  still  far  from 
the  Ouest-Ceinture  station  of  Paris.  The  beds  are 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  197 

excellent,  but  the  frequent  stoppages  prevent  our 
sleeping  much. 

I  do  not  think  I  have  lost  much  in  travelling  by 
night  through  the  scenery  of  Missouri,  Illinois,  and 
Indiana.  In  traversing  Ohio  by  day  we  see  the  same 
monotonous  and  well-cultivated  plain  which  I  have 
grown  accustomed  to  since  leaving  Buffalo.  But  on 
approaching  Pennsylvania  the  scene  changes:  culti 
vated  tracts  become  rarer,  and  at  last  disappear  alto 
gether  as  we  enter  the  great  industrial  zone.  Contrary 
to  my  expectation,  the  country  is  not  ugly  at  all.  Ex 
cept  on  the  side  of  the  factories,  it  is  covered  with 
verdure,  broken  up  by  hills,  watered  by  rivers,  and 
dotted  with  little  cottages  where  each  family  seems  to 
live  separately  and  independently.  Nothing  reminds 
one  of  the  surroundings  of  Creusot  or  Montchanin, 
that  barren  country  with  its  monotonous  rows  of  work 
men's  cottages.  As  far  as  one  can  judge  when  passing 
through  by  rail,  the  little  black  building-groups  that  we 
see  contain  only  the  factories  and  shops ;  no  one  lives 
where  he  works. 

We  pass  immense  trains  of  coal  in  increasing  num 
bers,  and  the  air  becomes  thick,  smoky,  and  almost 
black.  We  shall  soon  enter  the  city  of  Carnegie, 
Edison,  and  Westinghouse,  that  city  of  iron  and  steel, 
the  greatest  iron  manufacturing  centre  in  the  world.  I 
finish  my  breviary,  that  I  may  be  free  this  evening. 
It  is  the  office  of  Saint  Jerome,  the  great  hermit  scholar 
of  Bethlehem.  At  first,  I  am  struck  by  the  contrast; 
but  then  I  remember  that  this  same  Book  over  which 
the  solitary  labored  sixteen  hundred  years  ago  still  serves 


198  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

for  moral  rule  and  religious  inspiration  here  as  the  ever- 
living,  all-sufficing  ideal,  and  one  which,  far  from  weak 
ening  its  hold  on  the  human  race,  is  all  the  better 
adapted  to  its  needs  in  proportion  as  civilization 
progresses. 

One  cannot  cite  a  better  example  than  Pittsburg  to 
support  the  theory  that  the  place  creates  the  work,  and 
in  consequence  property,  and  the  whole  organization  of 
life.  Here  the  nature  of  the  soil  could  not  fail  to  pro 
duce  a  manufacturing  town.  It  is  a  spot  between  two 
navigable  rivers,  which,  united,  form  a  natural  canal 
as  far  as  the  ocean;  to  the  right  and  left  there  are 
mountains  containing  ore;  on  the  southwest  and.  the 
east  is  a  regular  bed  of  coal,  a  hundred  miles  wide  and 
more  than  two  hundred  miles  long,  which  furnishes 
coke  for  the  mines  of  Colorado  as  well  as  for  the  fac 
tories  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  also  the  gas-coal  for 
all  the  Mississippi  basin.  At  some  distance  to  the 
north  there  are  inexhaustible  sources  of  petroleum,  and 
to  the  northeast  marvellous  stores  of  natural  gas.  Such 
are  the  subterranean  riches  of  this  favored  region,  and 
it  must  be  owned  that  the  Americans  have  known  how 
to  utilize  them  to  an  extent  hitherto  undreamed  of. 

In  a  chapter  in  his  book,  "The  Empire  of  Busi 
ness,"  treating  of  petroleum  and  the  gas-wells  of  east 
ern  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Carnegie  extols  these  treasures 
in  an  almost  poetic  strain,  which  is  not  surprising  when 
one  recognizes  the  marvellous  forces  which  human 
genius  has  extracted  from  them.  At  the  same  time, 
the  author,  leaving  poetry  aside,  speaks  with  legitimate 
complaisance  of  the  great  success  of  his  first  workings 


ANDREW  CARNEGIE 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  199 

in  petroleum.  The  well  itself,  purchased  for  forty 
thousand  dollars,  repaid  in  a  single  year  five  millions 
in  dividends,  "  rather  a  good  return  upon  an  invest 
ment  of  ;£8,ooo."  And  rejoicing  in  this  advantageous 
investment,  he  good-humoredly  rails  at  human  gulli 
bility,  which  as  long  as  petroleum  cost  two  dollars  a 
bottle  attributed  to  it  surprising  medicinal  virtues,  but 
ceased  to  use  it  as  a  remedy  as  soon  as  the  price  fell 
to  a  cent. 

Mr.  Carnegie  tells  with  no  less  enthusiasm  of  the 
discovery  and  utilization  of  natural  gas.  Indeed,  he 
was  among  the  first  to  establish  pipe  lines  through 
which  it  might  be  brought  for  the  purpose  of  lighting 
the  town  and  supplying  motors.  People  have  now 
become  accustomed  to  its  use;  but  it  must  have  been 
a  strange  spectacle  when  for  the  first  time,  and  quite 
accidentally,  they  burnt  this  invisible  emanation  of  the 
soil.  Perhaps  it  would  never  have  been  utilized  if 
chance  had  not  willed  that  some  workmen,  in  boring  a 
well  to  a  considerable  depth,  had  happened  to  come 
upon  a  reservoir  of  this  gas,  which  produced  a  frightful 
explosion.  The  only  thing  to  be  done  was  to  tame 
the  monster,  to  coax  it  into  solid  pipes,  and  to  put  it 
to  use  as  manufactured  gas.  One  might  rely  upon 
the  Pittsburg  folk  to  accomplish  this,  as  well  as  many 
another  bold  feat. 

In  speaking  of  and  quoting  from  Mr.  Carnegie  in 
our  notice  of  Pittsburg,  we  are  by  no  means  wandering 
from  our  subject.  There  are  two  summits  from  which 
this  town  must  be  seen :  one  is  Mount  Washington, 


aoo  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

above  the  Monongahela  River,  and  another  is  Andrew 
Carnegie,  who  towers  high  over  all  the  other  busi 
ness  men  in  this  bustling  city.  And  I  do  not  say 
so  simply  because  he  has  given  Pittsburg  a  library 
which  bears  his  name,  and  of  which  the  edifice  alone 
cost  nearly  a  million  dollars,  nor  even  because  it  is 
here  one  sees  his  huge  furnaces  at  work ;  but  rather 
because  it  is  here  that  his  marvellous  capacity  has  been 
trained  and  developed  until  he  has  become  the  most 
perfect  type  of  business  man  that  the  United  States 
has  produced.  You  see  this  in  reading  the  introduction 
to  his  "Gospel  of  Wealth/'  where  he  describes  his 
apprenticeship;  just  as  in  the  works  of  President 
Roosevelt,  especially  in  his  volume  on  "  The  Strenuous 
Life"  and  "American  Ideals,"  you  find  the  best 
example  of  the  politician,  while  Bishop  Spalding  in 
his  "Opportunity"  is  the  interpreter  of  the  highest 
religious  thought. 

Nothing  is  more  interesting  or  instructive  than  the 
career  of  this  little  Scotch  boy,  whose  father  emigrated 
with  his  family  to  Pittsburg,  having  lost  his  fortune 
and  occupation  (that  of  a  master  weaver)  owing  to  the 
introduction  of  steam  factories  in  his  native  town  of 
Dunfermline.  But  we  need  not  dwell  at  length  on 
his  story,  which  is  well  known  to  his  fellow-citizens. 
Briefly,  then,  he  tells  us  how  at  twelve  years  he  served 
as  a  bobbin-boy  in  a  cotton-mill,  and  toiled  incessantly 
for  the  magnificent  sum  of  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a 
week.  But  before  he  was  thirteen  he  found  employ 
ment  in  the  factory  of  an  old  Scotchman,  and  was 
assigned  to  run  the  small  steam-engine  that  drove  the 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  201 

machinery.  At  fourteen  he  had  a  post  as  telegraph 
messenger-boy,  and  soon  became  an  operator  at  a 
salary  of  twenty-five  dollars  a  month  —  a  sum  which 
realized  his  childhood's  dreams  of  wealth.  He  soon 
earned  an  extra  dollar  by  copying  the  telegraphic  news 
then  shared  by  the  six  newspapers  of  Pittsburg.  This 
brought  him  into  friendly  relations  with  the  reporters, 
and  was  at  the  same  time  his  first  "business"  operation, 
as  the  money  so  gained  was  not  considered  as  revenue 
of  the  family.  Having  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
Mr.  Scott,  the  clever  superintendent  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  Railroad,  that  gentleman  engaged  him  as  clerk 
and  operator  at  thirty-five  dollars  a  month,  and  he 
remained  thirteen  years  in  his  service,  at  last  succeed 
ing  him  as  Superintendent  of  the  Pittsburg  Division 
of  the  road. 

It  was  by  Mr.  Scott's  advice  that  he  was  led  to 
invest  five  hundred  dollars,  the  whole  of  the  family 
fortune,  in  ten  shares  of  stock  in  the  Adams  Express 
Company.  This  proved  to  be  a  paying  concern,  and 
young  Carnegie  prospered  as  well  as  his  employer, 
while  he  was  able  to  render  a  great  service  to  the  latter 
by  persuading  him  to  introduce  the  Woodruff  sleeping- 
cars  (so  named  from  their  inventor)  on  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  long  before  the  investment  was  absorbed  by 
the  celebrated  Pullman.  But  the  real  basis  of  his 
present  fortune  was  the  organization  of  a  company  in 
Pittsburg  to  build  iron  bridges  in  place  of  the  wooden 
ones  which  had  hitherto  been  exclusively  used  on  the 
railways.  He  thus  realized  his  cherished  idea  of 
becoming  his  own  master,  of  manufacturing  something, 


202  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

of  giving  employment  to  many  men.  "  Even  then," 
as  he  says  in  conclusion, "  we  cannot  remain  stationary, 
or  satisfied  with  the  results  obtained.  To  stop  expand 
ing  would  be  to  fall  behind ;  and  even  to-day  the 
successive  improvements  and  inventions  follow  each 
other  so  rapidly  that  we  see  just  as  much  yet  to  be 
done  as  ever."  Thus  he  and  the  companions  of  his 
boyhood  continue  year  after  year  to  extend  their  field 
of  enterprise,  "in  order,"  as  he  says,  "to  meet  the 
ever-growing  and  ever-changing  wants  of  this  most 
progressive  country." 

Mere  money-making  is  for  Andrew  Carnegie  but 
half  the  task ;  it  is  necessary  to  employ  it  well.  Hence 
his  book  "The  Gospel  of  Wealth."  One  may  or 
may  not  share  his  opinions,  but  at  least  one  must  own 
that  they  are  not  wanting  in  a  certain  nobility.  A  man 
who,  having  risen  from  the  ranks  himself,  thinks  and 
speaks  thus,  is  a  man  in  a  thousand.  As  his  ideas  are 
not  exclusively  personal,  but  are  shared  by  many 
influential  people,  they  are  worth  a  moment's  con 
sideration. 

Like  that  of  most  Americans,  his  philosophy  is 
based  on  optimism.  "The  good  old  times"  were  not 
"good  old  times,"  according  to  him.  The  present 
state  of  things  must  be  accepted  and  utilized  just  as  it 
is.  Communism  is  absurd;  there  is  no  alternative  for 
the  great  employers  of  labor  between  ruin  and  an 
immense  fortune.  But  they  should  consider  themselves 
only  as  the  trustees  or  administrators,  and  use  their 
wealth  for  the  common  good.  When  they  have 
expended  what  is  necessary  for  the  comfortable  main- 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  203 

tenance  and  education  of  their  family,  the  surplus 
ought  to  be  applied  by  them  to  public  interests. 

There  are  but  three  modes  of  disposing  of  surplus 
wealth :  it  can  be  left  to  the  family  of  the  decedents, 
it  can  be  bequeathed  for  public  purposes,  or  it  can  be 
distributed  by  its  possessors  during  their  lives.  Parents 
should  of  course  educate  their  children,  and  give  them 
as  far  as  possible  the  means  of  earning  their  own  liveli 
hood  ;  and, — an  important  consideration, —  it  is  also  just 
to  provide  for  them  in  moderation,  if  they  accept  the 
highly  commendable  mission  of  laboring  for  public 
ends,  without  regard  to  pecuniary  considerations. 
Beyond  this,  he  considers  it  most  injudicious  for  men 
to  leave  great  fortunes  to  their  children,  as  great  sums 
bequeathed  often  work  more  for  the  injury  than  for  the 
good  of  the  recipients.  On  the  other  hand,  to  be 
queath  one's  fortune  by  will  shows  that  a  man  is 
content  to  wait  until  he  is  dead  before  he  becomes  of 
much  use  in  the  world;  and  he  is  not  to  be  extolled 
for  doing  what  he  cannot  help.  For  what  merit  is 
there  in  such  forced  benevolence?  From  all  this,  Mr. 
Carnegie  concludes  that  a  graduated  inheritance  tax  is  a 
wise  and  salutary  measure.  According  to  him,  the 
third  mode  of  employing  wealth  is  the  only  one 
worthy  of  a  man,  a  Christian,  and  a  good  citizen  of 
the  modern  world. 

In  this  we  have  the  true  antidote  for  the  temporary  unequal 
distribution  of  wealth,  the  reconciliation  of  the  rich  and  the  poor  — 
a  reign  of  harmony,  another  ideal,  differing  indeed  from  that  of  the 
communist  in  requiring  only  the  further  evolution  of  existing  con 
ditions,  not  the  total  overthrow  of  our  civilization.1 

1  "  The  Gospel  of  Wealth,"  p.  12. 


204  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

The  duty  of  the  man  of  wealth  is : 

To  set  an  example  of  modest,  unostentatious  living,  shunning 
display  or  extravagance ;  to  provide  moderately  for  the  legitimate 
wants  of  those  dependent  upon  him;  and,  after  doing  so,  to  consider 
all  surplus  revenues  which  come  to  him  simply  as  trust  funds,  which 
he  is  called  upon  to  administer,  and  strictly  bound  as  a  matter  of 
duty  to  administer  in  the  manner  which  in  his  judgment  is  best 
calculated  to  produce  the  most  beneficial  results  for  the  community, 
—  the  man  of  wealth  thus  becoming  the  mere  trustee  and  agent  for 
his  poorer  brethren,  bringing  to  their  service  his  superior  wisdom, 
experience,  and  ability  to  administer,  doing  for  them  better  than  they 
would  or  could  do  for  themselves.1 

And,  indeed,  it  seems  to  me  I  have  read  something 
very  similar  in  the  homilies  of  St.  John  Chrysostom, 
or  in  the  sermons  of  Bossuet. 

Still,  the  same  principle  may  demand,  according  to 
the  times,  a  very  different  application.  Like  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church,  our  American  millionaire  extols 
the  happiness  of  laboring  for  the  good  of  his  fellows; 
and  he  seeks  his  ideal  in  the  teaching  of  Christ.  But 
he  desires  that  one  should  recognize  the  changed  con 
ditions  of  this  age,  and  reproduce  the  spirit  rather  than 
the  letter  of  the  Gospel.  Nine-tenths  of  the  money 
spent  in  indiscriminate  charity  is  wasted,  and  probably 
often  does  more  harm  than  good.  Everyone  has,  of 
course,  met  with  individual  cases  where  timely  aid  may 
be  of  real  benefit;  but  it  is  society,  and  not  the 
wealthy  man,  which  has  the  mission  of  helping  the 
really  destitute.  The  individual  administrator  of  his 
surplus  wealth  should  aid  those  who  are  striving 
courageously,  should  assist  those  who  desire  to  rise, 

1 "  The  Gospel  of  Wealth,"  p.  1 5. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  205 

but  rarely  or  never  should  he  do  all.  His  role  is  to 
multiply,  for  those  who  wish  to  profit  by  them,  the 
means  of  improvement,  both  physical  and  moral, — 
everything,  in  fact,  which  tends  to  develop  the  education 
of  the  people,  such  as  public  institutions  of  various 
kinds,  parks,  baths,  medical  schools,  picture-galleries, 
universities. 

But  beside  this,  the  wealthy  man  should  devote 
himself,  his  time,  and  his  experience  to  the  wise  admin 
istration  of  his  gifts,  so  that  they  should  not  have  a 
degrading  or  pauperizing  effect  on  the  recipients.  In 
the  case  of  a  library  or  a  park,  for  instance,  he  should 
insist  on  the  community  being  taxed  to  maintain  them, 
as  an  endowed  institution  is  liable  to  become  the  prey  of 
a  clique.  Such  is  the  solution  which  Mr.  Carnegie 
offers  to  the  mysterious  difficulties  which  seem  to  bar 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  the  rich. 

The  gospel  of  wealth  but  echoes  Christ's  words.  It  calls 
upon  the  millionaire  to  sell  all  that  he  hath,  and  give  it  in  the  highest 
and  best  form  to  the  poor  by  administering  his  estate  himself  for  the 
good  of  his  fellows,  before  he  is  called  upon  to  lie  down  and  rest 
upon  the  bosom  of  Mother  Earth.  So  doing,  he  will  approach  his 
end  no  longer  the  ignoble  hoarder  of  useless  millions  ;  poor,  very  poor 
indeed,  in  money,  but  rich,  very  rich,  twenty  times  a  millionaire 
still,  in  the  affection,  gratitude,  and  admiration  of  his  fellowmen, 
and — sweeter  far — soothed  and  sustained  by  the  still  small  voice 
within,  which,  whispering,  tells  him  that  because  he  has  lived, 
perhaps  one  small  part  of  the  great  world  has  been  bettered  just  a 
little.  This  much  is  sure :  against  such  riches  as  these  no  bar  will 
be  found  at  the  gates  of  Paradise. 1 

It  has  been  objected  by  some  that  this  gospel  is  not 
practical.  Mr.  Carnegie's  reply  is  obvious:  the  Gos- 

144  The  Gospel  of  Wealth,"  p.  43. 


206  IN   THE   LAND   OF 

pel  of  Christianity  is  also  nullified  by  the  acts  of  some, 
but  that  is  no  argument  against  it.  Many  names  well 
known  in  Europe  prove  that  a  certain  number  of  Ameri 
cans  act  up  to  this  ideal ;  and  as  regards  public  educa 
tion  in  the  United  States,  private  generosity  supplies 
funds  which  greatly  exceed  those  which  in  our  old 
countries  are  furnished  by  the  enforced  contributions 
of  the  State.  To  take  but  one  instance :  has  not  Sen 
ator  Stanford  given  twenty  millions  of  dollars  in  order 
to  found  a  university  upon  the  Pacific  coast? 

Thus  far  our  excursions  in  Pittsburg  have  not 
extended  beyond  the  social  ideas  of  Mr.  Carnegie. 
One  cannot  leave  "  the  iron  city,"  however,  without 
visiting  the  foundries  and  workshops.  So  we  made 
a  hasty  survey  of  the  establishments  of  Carnegie  and 
Westinghouse. 

This  latter  "captain  of  industry,"  known  all  over 
the  world  by  the  railroad  brakes  invented  by  him,  has 
among  his  employees  a  young  Frenchman,  twenty-four 

years  old,  my  friend  C ,  whose  presence  at  Pittsburg 

was  the  chief  cause  of  my  coming  to  that  city.  To  have 
seen  this  well-bred  boy  for  the  first  time  in  a  French 
country-house  fifteen  years  ago,  and  now  to  meet  him 
again  in  charge  of  a  gang  of  workmen  in  the  United 
States,  a  thorough  American  though  still  French,  a  good 
Christian  as  well  as  a  hard  worker,  and  a  perfect  man  of 
the  world,  sought  after  in  the  drawing-rooms,  and  highly 
esteemed  by  his  fellow-workmen,  knowing  how  to  show 
himself  the  equal  of  all,  and  to  have  himself  called 
"one  of  us"  by  all, —  here  is  a  meeting  that  repays 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  207 

a  journey  of  three  hundred  miles,  and  is  of  a  kind  to 
create  confidence  as  to  the  prospects  of  well-educated 
young  Frenchmen.  On  leaving  the  barracks,  where, 
thanks  to  his  diploma  from  the  Commercial  School, 
he  had  to  serve  but  one  year,  this  young  man  of  good 
family  entered,  at  eight  cents  an  hour,  a  European 
branch  of  the  Westinghouse  company.  Shortly  after 
ward  he  was  sent  to  the  headquarters  of  the  company 
at  Pittsburg,  as  a  common  mechanic,  sharing  the  life 
of  his  companions  in  toil.  For  two  months,  by  his 
own  desire,  he  was  engaged  in  night-work,  which  lasted 
from  6  P.  M.  till  7  A.  M.,  with  a  rest  of  half  an  hour  at 
midnight.  To-day,  at  the  factories  charged  with  the 
despatching  of  electric  motors,  he  is  engaged  in  giving 
orders  oftener  than  in  receiving  them.  Frequently,  at 
the  head  of  a  gang  of  workmen,  he  is  sent  to  all  parts 
of  the  United  States  to  install  electric  plants.  But 
when  the  occasion  demands,  he  can  take  a  turn  at 
manual  work.  Thus  he  is  caught  in  the  current  of 
"the  strenuous  life,"  and  neither  he  nor  his  friends 
would  undertake  to  assign  any  limits  to  the  possibili 
ties  toward  which  this  current  is  bearing  him. 

Naturally,  my  friend  conducted  me  to  his  own 
centre  of  operations.  The  Westinghouse  works  are 
in  East  Pittsburg.  The  train  which  brings  us  to  them 
passes  through  Braddock,  Bessemer,  Homestead,  all 
industrial  cities,  above  which  hangs,  even  in  fine  weather, 
a  sky  laden  with  strange  clouds  not  unlike,  in  their  low 
ering  copper  hue,  those  which  announce  the  approach 
of  a  hail-storm.  The  red  flames  towering  about  the 
great  furnaces  of  the  Edgar  Thompson  works  suggest 


208  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

volcanoes  in  eruption.  The  Westinghouse  factories, 
more  peaceful  in  appearance,  are  about  ten  in  number, 
comprising,  among  others,  the  Westinghouse  Manu 
facturing  Company,  which  constructs  all  kinds  of  elec 
tric  engines  and  equipment;  the  Air-Brake  Company, 
which  makes  the  famous  brakes ;  and  the  Machine 
Company,  manufacturing  gas-engines,  turbines,  and 
steam-engines.  The  most  important  of  all  is  the 
Westinghouse  Electric  Company,  the  buildings  of 
which  cover  at  least  twenty  acres.  Without  reckon 
ing  the  twenty-five  hundred  persons  engaged  in  office- 
work,  it  employs  eight  thousand  two  hundred  men 
and  one  thousand  two  hundred  women.  The  women 
receive  about  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  day,  and  the  men 
from  two  and  a  half  upward,  a  number  of  them  reach 
ing  four  and  five  dollars.  There  are  many  branch 
establishments  in  Europe,  notably  at  Manchester,  St. 
Petersburg,  and  Havre.  In  the  latter  place  were  built 
the  electric  motors  for  the  Paris  Metropolitan  Railroad. 
We  visit  only  the  power-house  department,  in  which 
are  constructed  machines  with  an  alternating  current 
of  5,500  kilowatts.  The  Central  Station  of  the  New 
York  Elevated  Railroad,  and  that  of  the  Subway, 
contain  ten  units  of  9,000  kilowatts.  These  two 
plants,  probably  the  largest  in  the  world,  have  been 
installed  by  this  company.  How  some  of  my  engi 
neer  friends  would  enjoy  being  in  my  place!  Not 
being  of  the  initiated,  I  admire  chiefly  the  elegant 
simplicity  of  the  distributors  which  conduct  so  much 
fearful  force,  and  the  ease  with  which,  twenty  feet 
above  our  heads,  immense  cranes  transport  burdens 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  209 

of  thirty  tons,  bringing,  when  necessary,  finishing 
machines  from  one  end  of  the  workshop  to  the  other, 
to  obviate  the  labor  of  transporting  the  pieces  of 
material,  which  are  sometimes  of  enormous  size.  I 
admire,  I  say,  without  understanding  very  thoroughly, 
feeling  all  the  while  that  if  I  understood  better  my 
admiration  would  be  all  the  more  profound. 

The  battery  of  Carnegie  furnaces,  though  equally 
beyond  the  range  of  my  comprehension,  impress  me 
still  more.  Admission  is  obtained  only  by  special 
ticket;  but  this  is  the  sole  precaution  taken  on  behalf 
of  visitors,  and  I  deem  it  insufficient,  for  there  is 
scarcely  any  more  dangerous  walk  than  that  which  one 
takes  without  a  guide  through  this  hell.  Dante  was 
at  least  conducted  by  Virgil.  We  have  scarcely  entered, 
when  we  see  shooting  past  us  a  long  serpent  of  fire,  a 
glowing  bar  of  tempered  iron,  forty  or  fifty  feet  in 
length,  which  is  escaping  from  the  rolling-mill.  Had 
we  found  ourselves  in  its  path,  we  should  not  have  had 
anybody  to  disturb  us  with  the  warning,  "  Look  out 
for  yourself!"  In  another  direction  we  see  majestically 
advancing  great  blocks  of  red-hot  castings,  as  if  wan 
dering  at  random  over  the  rails  in  order  to  get  cool. 
Their  vicinity  sends  toward  us  waves  of  stifling  heat, 
and  we  are  about  to  retreat;  but  we  must  beware  of 
other  blocks  of  the  same  kind,  unexpected  railroads, 
and  machinery  of  all  sorts  which  pursues  its  work  with 
great  dignity  and  without  the  slightest  concern  for  the 
spectators.  And  everything  works  automatically,  with 
a  limited  number  of  hands.  Here  it  is  man's  labor 
that  is  dear.  Every  machine  knows  its  trade  by  heart. 


210  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

so  to  speak,  and  easily  dispenses  with  direction.  Noth 
ing  could  be  more  orderly ,  but  if  my  companion  had 
not  possessed  a  surer  eye  than  I,  we  should  have  run  a 
great  risk  of  having  to  choose  between  being  scorched, 
crushed,  or  flung,  Heaven  knows  how  far!  When, 
however,  one  becomes  accustomed  to  the  noise,  and 
can  pick  out  the  safe  spots,  one  begins  to  enjoy  the 
extraordinary  spectacle  of  so  much  order  and  peace 
amid  this  play  of  titantic  forces ;  once  familiar  with  the 
monsters,  one  may  even  find  them  beautiful ;  one 
enjoys  the  glare  of  the  furnaces,  the  transparency  of 
the  hot  iron  bars,  the  rapid  change  of  colors — white, 
red,  rose,  and  astonishing  shades  of  violet  —  through 
which  the  castings  pass  from  the  moment  they  leave 
the  crucible. 

The  foregoing  description  will  not  draw  upon  me, 
from  either  Westinghouse  or  Carnegie,  the  charge  of 
having  betrayed  the  secrets  of  their  business.  Beside, 
even  competent  visitors  would  be  admitted  with  equal 
freedom.  If  Americans  take  out  numberless  patents, 
— Westinghouse  alone  has  already  registered  about 
two  hundred,  corresponding  to  as  many  separate  im 
provements  in  his  air-brake, — they  rarely  trouble  them 
selves  much  about  throwing  a  veil  of  mystery  around 
the  manufacturing  processes.  The  following  absolutely 
authentic  anecdote,  told  to  me  by  my  friend  as  we  were 
leaving  the  Carnegie  shops,  explains  the  reason  of  this 
indifference,  and  displays  an  interesting  side  of  the 
American  industrial  chief.  Not  very  long  ago  two 
engineers  presented  themselves  before  the  president  of 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  211 

the  N Engineering  Company,  and  asked  permission 

to  visit  his  works.  They  were  allowed  to  make  a  close 
inspection  of  everything,  under  the  guidance  of  one  of 
the  managers.  Then  they  returned  to  the  president 
and  thanked  him  warmly  for  his  courtesy.  "  I  have 
done  very  little,"  he  replied.  "  Why  make  a  mystery 
of  things  when  anyone  who  is  determined  upon  it  can 
always  manage  to  find  out  everything?  As  for  you,  all 
that  I  ask  is  that,  should  you  ever  be  at  the  head  of  a 
plant,  you  will  treat  others  as  I  have  just  treated  you." 
The  following  year  there  was  another  meeting,  this 
time,  however,  at  the  offices  of  the  former  visitors.  The 
courteous  president  of  the  other  company  asked  per 
mission  to  visit  the  new  establishment,  which  was 
engaged  in  the  same  kind  of  manufacturing  as  his  own 
firm.  He  received  a  polite  but  peremptory  refusal. 
Two  weeks  after,  a  workman  of  the  new  company 
presented  his  wage-coupon  at  the  paymaster's  window 
in  the  usual  way.  The  clerk  tendered  him  the  cash. 
With  a  smile,  he  refused  it.  "Your  employers,"  he 
said,  "  owe  me  nothing.  Just  tell  them  that  during 

the  past  fortnight  the  president  of  the  N Company 

has  obtained  here  all  the  information  he  wanted." 

Mere  will-power  would  not,  of  course,  have  sufficed 
to  insure  the  success  of  this  able  enterprise.  The 
president  must  have  passed  through  all  the  grades  of 
the  profession,  like  my  friend  C — ,  and  the  greater  num 
ber  of  engineers  who  receive  their  training  in  the 
employ  of  the  Westinghouse  and  other  great  compa 
nies.  The  English  Commission  which,  in  1902  and 
1903,  visited  the  American  workshops  and  schools  in 


212  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

order  to  study  in  a  general  way  the  systems  of  educa 
tion  regarded  as  a  preparation  for  practical  life,  has 
given  us,  in  one  of  its  reports,  which  records  many 
facts  observed  in  the  Westinghouse  concern,  some 
interesting  details  of  the  relations  existing  between  the 
workshop  and  the  school  or  university.  The  profes 
sion  of  electrical  engineering  is  not  absolutely  closed 
to  non-technical  apprentices,  and  a  certain  number  of 
them  reach  it ;  but  in  general  "  a  student  engineer  in 
a  workshop  ought  to  have  followed  a  college  course, — 
and  a  college  professor  ought  to  be  actively  engaged 
in  the  profession  which  he  teaches."1  Formerly,  to 
have  followed  a  college  course  was  counted  rather  a 
disadvantage  in  these  practical  pursuits.  Now,  on  the 
contrary,  two  chiefs  on  the  Westinghouse  staff  visit 
every  year  the  leading  universities  and  technical  schools 
of  the  country,  to  select  students  whom  they  judge  the 
fittest  to  enter  the  service  of  the  company.  These 
students  are  admitted  on  probation  as  student  engi 
neers,  with  the  pay  of  fifteen  cents  an  hour;  the  ablest 
succeed  in  reaching,  within  a  year,  a  salary  of  from  four 
to  six  dollars  a  day.  But  although  they  receive  wages, 
the  company's  chief  concern  is  with  their  training ;  and 
to  complete  it,  they  all  change  shops  every  three 
months. 

Although  the  great  companies  tend  more  and  more 
to  intrust  the  management  of  their  works  to  college 
graduates  who  have  perfected  their  education  in  the 
shop,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  ordinary  apprentice 

1  Report  of  the  Mosley  Educational  Commission  to  the  United  States  of  America. 
October- December,  1903.  The  Cooperative  Printing  Society,  Tudor  St.,  London,  E.G. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  213 

must  renounce  all  hope  of  attaining  a  high  position. 
Every  young  American  may  aspire  to  become  a  mil 
lionaire,  or  President  of  the  Republic.  The  obstacles 
between  his  dream  and  its  realization  are  certainly  not 
small  considering  the  number  and  energy  of  his  com 
petitors  ;  but  neither  the  institutions  nor  the  customs 
of  the  country  put  any  difficulty  in  his  path.  If  the 
college  is  necessary,  at  least  it  is  open  to  all ;  and  many 
attempt  it  who  have  begun  by  themselves  earning  the 
wherewith  to  open  its  doors.  One  of  the  most  impor 
tant  men  in  the  Westinghouse  Company  told  the 
English  Commissioners  how,  when  during  his  early 
youth  he  was  working  on  a  farm,  he  had  been  encour 
aged  by  the  village  schoolmaster;  how,  in  order  to 
provide  for  himself  and  aid  his  family,  he  rose  every 
morning  at  two  o'clock  to  milk  thirty  cows;  how  he 
managed  to  save  some  money  in  a  factory,  and  then 
went  to  the  University  of  Ohio,  without  ceasing  to 
work  with  his  hands ;  how  seven  of  his  eight  brothers 
were,  at  the  time  he  spoke,  with  the  Westinghouse 
people ;  and  how  ( he  certainly  had  a  right  to  say  so ) 
it  is  the  hard  work  of  the  farm  that  produces  the  race 
from  which  the  American  engineer  springs. 

Pittsburg  has  not  left  me  recollections  of  furnaces 
and  machinery  only.  One  evening  my  friend  C— 
called  on  me  at  my  hotel  to  take  me  with  him  to  visit 
a  family  of  his  acquaintance.  The  Schenley  Hotel, 
situated  in  the  park  given  to  Pittsburg  by  a  lady  of 
that  name,  is  itself  outside  the  city,  which,  owing  to 
the  noise  and  smoke,  is  scarcely  habitable ;  still,  it 


2i4  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

takes  half  an  hour's  rapid  ride  in  a  street-car,  through 

fields  and  woods,  to  reach  the  villa  where  the  M 

family  resides.     It  is  from  this  distant  residence  that 

Mr.  M goes  every  morning  to  his  office  in  the  city. 

All  day  long  he  is  occupied  in  transactions  involving 
thousands  of  dollars,  as  he  occupies  a  position  among  the 
prominent  business  men  of  Pittsburg ;  every  evening, 
and  from  Saturday  to  Monday,  hidden  in  the  peaceful 
country,  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  he  is  the  savant 
and  the  artist.  A  devout  Catholic,  he  has  built  a 
church  near  by  in  order  that  his  family  and  neighbors 
may  hear  daily  mass.  Occasionally  he  takes  a  vaca 
tion,  in  order  to  visit  some  corner  of  Europe  or  else 
where,  with  his  wife  and  daughters ;  his  sons  are  now 
passing  through  a  period  of  active  work.  The  greater 
part  of  the  countries  I  have  visited,  he  has  visited, 
the  important  books  I  have  read,  he  has  read;  and 
how  many  others  he  is  acquainted  with  that  I  shall 
never  know!  He  is  well  informed  on  everything  that 
concerns  religion,  education,  social  progress;  on  all 
vital  questions  he  has  clear  views,  in  conformity  with 
those  which  I  have  heard  maintained  everywhere  by  the 
wisest  and  best  informed  minds.  Now,  I  suspect  that 
men  like  him  are  not  over-abundant  in  the  United 
States,  any  more  than  elsewhere;  but  I  say  that  a 
country  in  which  even  a  small  number  of  such  men 
can  develop  possesses  a  true  civilization,  and  a  tree 
capable  of  producing  fruits  of  this  quality  is  vigorous 
and  sound. 

It  was  almost  midnight  when  I  reached  my  hotel. 
There  I  learned  that  a  reporter  had  been  waiting  since 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  215 

eleven  o'clock  to  speak  with  me  by  telephone,  and 
that  he  desired  an  appointment.  I  named  so  early  an 
hour  in  the  morning  that  he  asked  for  an  interview  at 
once;  and  with  a  Hello!  Hello!  I  was  immediately 
under  fire.  Finding  it  difficult  to  understand  and  be 
understood,  I  had  recourse  to  the  porter,  who  repeated 
the  questions  and  transmitted  my  answers,  all  by  tele 
phone.  On  rising  next  morning,  I  was  surprised  to 
gain  from  the  newspapers  some  unexpected  informa 
tion  concerning  my  plans:  for  example,  that  I  was  to 
spend  a  month  in  Pittsburg;  and  the  still  more  won 
derful  bit  of  news,  that  I  was  "one  of  the  foremost 
savants  in  the  world." 

When  my  friend  C rejoined  me,  we  joked  over 

my  new-born  glory;  and  concealing  it  under  an  im 
penetrable  incognito,  we  turned  toward  Pittsburg.  We 
sauntered  along  the  busy  streets  of  the  centre  of  the 
city.  We  admired  the  fine  Roman  style  of  the  Court- 
House,  with  its  tower  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 
We  visited  the  little  block-house,  a  relic  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  which  became  Fort  Pitt  in  1758,  and  Pitts 
burg  seven  years  later,  when  the  English  took  formal 
possession  of  it.  Neither  they  nor  the  French  had 
then  even  an  inkling  of  the  mineral  riches  of  the 
country,  but  they  appreciated  the  strategic  value  of 
the  position,  at  the  junction  of  the  Monongahela  and 
Alleghany  rivers.  The  two  regimes  are,  to  the  greater 
part  of  the  population,  but  far-off  and  almost  forgotten 
ideas.  Nothing  could  be  less  colonial,  nothing  more 
independent  or  American,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
word,  than  is  the  Pittsburg  of  to-day. 


216  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

During  the  last  day  of  my  stay,  I  was  again 
more  than  once  strongly  impressed  by  this  force 
ful  originality.  The  first  time  was  when  we  went  to 

the  office  of  Mr.  M ,  who  had  invited  us  to 

lunch.  One  of  the  ten  elevators  that  are  almost  un 
ceasingly  in  operation  in  this  great  building  carried 
us  at  a  single  bound  to  this  millionaire's  office  on  the 
fifteenth  story.  No  Parisian  notary,  in  his  ground- 
floor  in  the  Place  Vendome  or  de  la  Concorde,  is 
installed  more  pleasantly  and  comfortably  than  is  this 
Pittsburg  lawyer  up  in  his  aerie.  He  took  us  to  lunch 
at  the  Union  Club,  one  of  the  leading  clubs  of  the  city. 
We  had  not  far  to  go, —  only  to  take  the  elevator  to  the 
twenty-second  and  highest  story  of  a  colossal  build 
ing.  After  the  meal  we  went  out  on  the  terrace,  which 
is  of  white  marble,  like  the  rest  of  the  edifice.  It 
might  have  recalled  the  roof  of  the  dome  of  Milan, 
were  it  not  that,  around  and  below,  the  dispropor- 
tioned  buildings,  some  fifty  feet  high  and  some  three 
hundred,  the  two  dark  hills  that  compress  the  city  as 
in  a  vise,  the  noise,  the  smoke,  the  movement  of  street 
cars,  vessels,  factories,  railroads,  all  made  up  the  least 
Italian  of  panoramas. 

Stranger  still  was  the  spectacle  that  presented  itself 
to  us  from  the  top  of  Mount  Washington,  to  which 
we  were  carried  —  I  was  going  to  say  projected — by 
a  cable  more  remarkable  for  rapidity  than  for  elegance. 
All  along  the  Ohio  River,  as  well  as  the  two  rivers 
whose  union  here  gives  it  birth,  one  sees,  hears,  smells, 
seizes  through  every  sense  and  faculty,  in  its  confusion 
and  power,  a  life  gigantic  and  superhuman,  which  thinks 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  217 

and  toils  and  calculates ;  which  agitates  and  moulds, 
evokes  and  manipulates,  with  the  ease  of  a  god,  the 
linked  forces  of  mind  and  matter.  Nothing  could  be 
more  appallingly  magnificent.  And  so  strong  was  the 
impression  made  on  me  by  the  scene,  that  I  returned 
in  the  evening  to  the  mountain,  to  view  again  the  land 
scape  spread  out  beneath,  constellated  with  the  electric 
lights  of  the  city ;  while  farther  on,  under  the  low  sky 
and  amid  the  darkness  of  the  night,  as  if  from  infernal 
caverns,  streamed  forth  the  red  glare  of  the  furnaces. 

Have  the  railroad  companies,  like  ungrateful  or 
vindictive  beneficiaries,  turned  against  the  city  which 
manufactures  their  rails  and  bridges?  Like  the  train 
which  brought  me,  the  one  on  which  I  am  to  leave 
displays  a  fine  indifference  to  punctuality.  A  magnifi 
cent  Pullman  vestibule  train  leaves  the  East  Liberty 
Street  depot  at  7:25  A.  M.,  and  arrives  in  Washington 
at  5:10  P.  M.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  take  it;  but 
our  first  street-car  is  not  early  enough  for  that.  I 
resign  myself  to  the  prospect  of  slower  transit;  and 
of  the  two  express  trains,  starting  at  7:42  and  8:10 
A.  M.,  I  choose  the  second.  This  schedule  indicates 
the  frequency  of  the  service.  It  is  destined  to  indicate 
also  its  irregularity.  A  few  trifling  details  will  help  to 
bring  out  this  feature.  I  reach  the  station  at  7:45, 
when  theoretically  I  should  have  only  the  third  train 
available.  But  in  about  ten  minutes  I  see  the  first 
one  —  the  "  Pullman  Vestibule  "  — approaching,  in  two 
sections,  a  little  apart;  but  I  cannot  board  it,  as  my 
ticket  is  for  the  express.  At  8:10,  the  time  marked 


218  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

for  the  third  train,  the  second  one  passes,  loaded  with 
passengers.  I  get  aboard  it,  not  much  out  of  temper, 
for  I  have  lost  nothing  by  the  change,  unless  it  be  my 
respect  for  the  American  railroads,  which  is  to  dis 
appear  totally  before  long. 

Leaving  behind  the  smoke  of  Pittsburg,  the  eye  is 
enchanted,  especially  on  a  fine  Autumn  morning,  as  it 
ranges  over  such  a  pleasant  country  as  the  gorges  of 
Conemaugh ;  and  one  is  tempted  to  pity  those  clear 
green  waters  that,  without  knowing  it,  are  hurrying  to 
lose  their  innocence  by  contact  with  the  workshops 
that  await  them.  How  much  happier  they  look  in  the 
rocky  but  limpid  bed  which  they  have  worn  for  them 
selves  between  the  abrupt  ridges  of  the  Alleghanies, 
amid  trees  of  every  variety,  whose  varied  foliage  they 
reflect.  The  river,  the  highway,  and  the  railroad  are 
compelled  to  elbow  one  another  in  order  to  pass 
abreast  through  the  constantly  narrowing  defile.  We 
approach  the  little  industrial  town  of  Johnstown,  where, 
in  1889,  took  place  a  catastrophe  far  more  terrible  than 
that  of  Saint-Gervais.  An  embankment  1,000  feet 
long,  1 10  high,  90  wide  at  the  base,  and  30  at  the  top, 
gave  way,  owing  to  the  excessive  rains,  and  through  a 
breach  300  feet  wide  in  an  instant  there  poured  into 
the  valley  a  mass  of  water  half  a  mile  in  width  and 
fifty  feet  in  depth.  Nothing  was  left  of  neighboring 
villages,  nor  of  outlying  buildings,  nor  of  trees,  nor 
even  of  Johnstown,  which  was  twenty  miles  distant 
from  the  reservoir.  The  water,  rushing  at  the  rate  of 
three  miles  a  minute,  destroyed  four  or  five  thousand 
human  lives  and  damaged  property  to  the  extent  of 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  219 

fifty  millions  of  dollars.  Yet  all  traces  of  this  catas 
trophe  have  disappeared  in  less  than  fifteen  years. 
Johnstown  has  now  a  population  of  about  thirty 
thousand, —  double  its  former  one;  and  the  Cambria 
Steel  Works  employ  ten  thousand  men  there. 

We  ascend  a  thousand  feet  or  so  higher,  the 
scenery  becoming  more  and  more  interesting,  except 
when  the  view  is  shut  out,  now  on  one  side,  now  on 
the  other,  and  again  on  both,  by  immense  trains  laden 
with  coal ;  for  we  are  still  in  the  great  coal-basin  of 
Pennsylvania,  "the  largest  in  the  world."  A  tunnel 
2,160  feet  above  sea-level  brings  us  past  the  "divide" 
of  the  great  water-sheds.  Now  we  are  on  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  we  observe  that  while 
the  streams  of  the  western  slope  sought  the  Missis 
sippi  to  reach,  three  thousand  miles  farther  on,  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  those  on  this  side  find  a  nearer  outlet 
on  the  eastern  coast,  opposite  Europe.  We  are  cer 
tainly  getting  nearer  home.  This  perspective  somehow 
does  not  evoke  in  me  a  proper  amount  of  enthusiasm. 

We  continue  our  descent,  through  charming  scenery, 
which,  however,  is  much  like  that  to  be  seen  in  all 
mountain  places,  the  only  really  remarkable  thing  being 
the  Horseshoe  Curve,  where  the  trains  almost  seem  to 
make  a  circle,  as  on  the  St.  Gothard  Pass.  We  cross 
many  a  river  and  many  a  hill,  and  wherever  the  valley 
is  wide  enough  we  meet  with  little  industrial  towns  at 
which  we  halt.  One  of  these,  Altoona,  with  a  popula 
tion  of  less  than  40,000,  employs  1,500  workmen  to 
turn  out  annually  300  locomotives  and  5,000  freight- 
cars.  The  picturesque  diminishes  in  proportion  as  we 


220  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

approach  the  plain.  Two  rivers,  however,  possess 
some  interest, — the  Tuscarora,  noted  for  its  narrow 
gorges,  and  the  Juniata,  whose  graceful  banks  are  dear 
to  writers  of  romance.  Finally  we  cross  an  important 
river, —  the  Susquehanna, —  and  the  mountains  are 
gone. 

The  most  interesting  subject  of  study  in  connection 
with  the  country  through  which  we  have  just  passed 
would  be  the  traces  of  the  great  Indian  tribes  that  here 
united  in  their  struggle  against  the  whites.  But  this 
is  not  the  place  to  recount  the  heroic  deeds  of  Logan, 
the  great  chief  of  the  Mingos ;  beside,  I  know  no  more 
about  them  than  my  readers,  and  during  a  long  rail 
road  journey  one  is  more  inclined  to  sleep  than  to  read 
history. 

Between  two  naps,  I  pick  up  a  Pittsburg  morn 
ing  paper,  and  drowsily  skim  over  its  twelve  large  pages 
(it  is  only  a  local  sheet  and  a  regular  edition). 
Out  of  a  multitude  of  despatches,  two  only  arrest 
my  attention:  one  is  dated  at  Philadelphia,  where 
I  expect  to  be  shortly;  the  other  from  Paris,  of 
which  I  have  known  nothing  for  the  past  six  days. 
I  learn  that  the  new  canal  from  Philadelphia  to  the  sea, 
thirty  feet  in  depth,  is  progressing  rapidly,  and  will,  it 
is  expected,  be  opened  in  July,  1906.  I  have  at  hand 
no  statistics  except  some  that  are  fifteen  vears  old, 
which  very  probably  must  be  doubled.  They  show 
that  the  annual  value  of  Philadelphia's  manufactures 
was  then  nearly  $600,000,000,  and  the  number  of  vessels 
entering  and  leaving  the  port  annually  was  twelve  hun 
dred.  The  Paris  despatch,  the  only  news  from  France, 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  221 

announced  that  the  Government,  after  a  sustained 
resistance  by  the  Breton  villagers,  assisted  by  a  few 
monks,  had  succeeded  in  taking  possession  of  the  con 
vent  of  Amanlis  in  Ille-et-Vilaine.  Decidedly,  these 
Americans  are  unable  to  rise  above  material  considera 
tions!  There  remains  now  hardly  anybody  but  our 
selves  ready  to  quarrel  about  our  ideas  —  or  do  we 
rather  pummel  our  neighbor  on  account  of  his  ? 

We  next  reached  Harrisburg,  a  city  of  75,000  in 
habitants,  and  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania,  notwith 
standing  that  the  larger  cities  of  Philadelphia  and 
Pittsburg  are  both  in  this  State.  In  many  other  States, 
also,  the  seat  of  government  is  not  in  the  largest  cities. 
The  capital  of  New  York  State  is  Albany  ;  of  Illinois, 
Springfield,  although  Chicago  is  in  that  State.  Har 
risburg  would  doubtless  deserve  its  preeminence,  if  I 
had  the  slightest  basis  for  generalizing  from  some  traits 
and  manners  that  I  observed  in  it.  As  I  had  to  wait 
here  an  hour  for  my  train  to  go  on,  and  finding  that 
hunger  was  beginning  to  assert  itself  in  spite  of  the 
bananas  with  which  I  had  deluded  it  until  late  after 
noon,  and  judging  that  the  "lunch-counter"  at  the 
station  would  afford  little  chance  for  observation,  I 
started  to  find  some  restaurant  in  the  vicinity.  I  found 
one,  small  but  of  decent  appearance,  and  looking  quite 
home-like  inside.  A  venerable  old  fellow  presented 
himself  before  me,  and  I  asked  timidly  if  I  could, 
at  that  hour,  get  even  a  cold  meal.  "  Not  only  a 
cold  one,  but  a  hot  one,"  he  replied.  "  With  beer?  "  I 
ventured,  somewhat  emboldened.  "  No,  sir ;  you  get 


222  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

no  beer  here!"  I  felt  profoundly  thankful  that  I  had 
not  ventured  to  ask  for  wine.  I  resigned  myself  to 
the  prospect  of  ice  water.  My  boniface,  however,  of 
his  own  accord  offered  me  a  choice  between  tea  and 
coffee;  and  this  civility  set  me  at  ease.  While  the 
waiter  was  preparing  the  table,  arranging  on  it  half 
a  dozen  of  those  little  oval  plates  which  M.  de  Rousier, 
in  his  "Vie  Americaine,"  has  compared  to  a  bird's  bath 
tub,  I  examined  the  apartment,  and  was  highly  edified 
on  reading  above  the  door, f<  No  smoking,  no  profane 
language."  Those  prohibitions  did  not,  however,  press 
heavily  upon  me.  If  I  had  wished  to  smoke,  I  had 
not  the  time;  and  if  I  had  the  time  to  indulge  in  pro 
fanity,  I  had  no  wish  to  do  so.  Seriously  speaking, 
it  is  language  disrespectful  toward  God,  hence  immoral, 
that  is  so  positively  forbidden.  Whether  or  not  it 
comes  from  the  Quakerism  of  William  Penn  and  his 
companions,  may  this  prohibition  long  continue  to 
flourish. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  virtues  of  Pennsylvania, 
they  do  not  reach  so  far  as  to  impose  punctuality  on 
the  railroad  companies.  The  train  that  brought  me 
to  Pittsburg  was  behind  time ;  the  train  that  brought  me 
away  from  Pittsburg  was  behind  time ;  the  train  I  am  to 
take  for  the  District  of  Columbia  is  behind  time.  We 
ought  to  leave  Harrisburg  at  3:35  P.M.  As  soon  as 
the  train  is  made  up,  everybody  very  promptly  gets  on 
board.  The  hour  of  departure  comes,  but  we  do  not 
move;  four  o'clock,  but  not  a  wheel  turns;  at  4:35, 
an  hour  after  the  time  fixed,  everything  is  still  motion 
less.  Five  minutes  after,  however,  the  conductor 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  223 

passes  through  the  car,  gravely  announcing  the  start 
for  York,  Baltimore,  Washington.  The  passengers, 
who  hitherto  have  displayed  much  more  silent  patience 
than  I  should  have  expected  from  Americans,  receive 
the  good  news  with  loud  laughter,  which  rather  dis 
concerts  the  herald  of  the  company.  In  fact,  ten 
minutes  afterward, —  that  is,  an  hour  and  a  quarter 
behind  time, —  after  three  or  four  false  starts,  which 
provoked  the  merriment  of  everybody,  we  were  really 
under  way.  Where  else  have  I  seen  such  methods? 
Ah,  I  remember  —  in  the  north  of  Spain.  But 
Americans  show  again  their  true  character  in  the 
headlong  speed  with  which  they  strive  to  make  up  for 
lost  time.  In  spite  of  a  delay  at  York  and  another  at 
Baltimore,  we  have  gained  more  than  half  an  hour 
when  we  reach  Washington. 

But  "All 's  well  that  ends  well,"  and  the  only  weari 
some  day  that  I  spent  in  America  finishes  happily. 
From  the  little  that  I  can  perceive  of  Washington,  its 
aspect  seems  more  elegant  and  imposing  than  anything 
I  have  yet  met  with  on  this  side  of  the  ocean.  At  St. 
Patrick's  Rectory,  Dr.  Stafford  welcomes  me  with  his 
well-known  charming  cordiality.  With  him  I  find  the 
companion  of  my  voyage  from  whom  I  had  parted  so 
regretfully  in  Canada,  and  I  learn  from  him  that 
Cardinal  Gibbons,  having  heard  of  my  expected  arrival, 
has  been  good  enough  to  express  a  desire  to  see  me  on 
the  following  day  in  Baltimore,  where  in  solemn  cere 
mony  he  will  give  an  account  of  the  election  of  the 
new  Pope.  We  are  indeed  far  from  the  factories  of 
Pittsburg. 


224  IN   THE   LAND   OF 


CHAPTER  XI 

AT   THE    CARDINAL'S    HOUSE   IN 
BALTIMORE 

America  Represented  in  the  Conclave  for  the  First  Time. —  Return 
of  Cardinal  Gibbons. —  Public  Reception  in  Baltimore. —  A 
Popular  Archbishop. —  The  Creed  of  Constantinople  Sung  in 
the  Twentieth  Century ,  in  a  Great  American  City. —  A 
Walk  with  the  Cardinal. —  Conversations :  Montalembert, 
Paul  Bourget,  the  Catholic  Press,  the  Conclave. —  Cardinal 
Gibbons  and  the  Election  of  Pius  X. 

*  I  ^HE  celebration  to  which  we  —  that  is,  my  readers 
and  I — are  invited  is  not  the  first  which  has 
taken  place  since  the  return  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  from 
Rome.  I  shall  not  speak  of  the  welcome  given  to 
him  on  his  landing  in  New  York,  by  delegates  from 
many  dioceses.  But  the  reception  offered  him  on  this 
twenty-first  of  September,  in  his  good  city  of  Baltimore, 
deserves  to  be  recounted.  It  will  be  further  evidence 
as  to  the  relations  existing  between  the  Church  and 
the  public  authorities  and  the  people  at  large.  To 
grasp  the  significance  of  it,  one  must  remember  that 
Baltimore  has  a  population  of  600,000,  of  whom  two- 
thirds  are  Protestants.  The  Cardinal  is  loved  by  all 
his  fellow-citizens,  and  his  return  after  any  prolonged 
absence  is  always  an  occasion  of  rejoicing;  but  on 
account  of  his  recent  participation  in  the  Conclave,  the 
present  welcome  was  more  than  usually  demonstrative. 
On  his  departure  from  New  York,  the  managers  of  a 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  225 

large  railroad  courteously  placed  a  special  car  at  his 
disposal.  He  was  escorted  to  the  station  by  a  number 
of  prominent  Catholics,  and  received  by  a  high  official 
of  the  Company.  At  Jersey  City  many  priests  were 
waiting  to  greet  him.  A  deputation  from  his  own 
diocese  had  come  as  far  as  Washington  to  receive 
him;  and  when  he  reached  Baltimore  he  found  the 
entire  city  awaiting  him.  Nearly  three  hundred  police 
men  were  present  to  do  him  honor,  and  —  an  easy  task 
—  to  keep  order.  A  hundred  societies  in  uniform 
were  waiting  in  the  side  streets  to  join  the  procession. 
The  crowds  that  had  been  collecting  for  hours  relieved 
their  impatience  by  cheering  the  Washington  delegation 
of  three  hundred  men  with  a  band  of  music,  and  next 
the  Mayor  of  Baltimore  and  the  civic  authorities,  who 
took  their  places  in  the  waiting-room.  When  the 
Cardinal,  in  his  black  coat  and  high  hat,  stepped  down, 
smiling,  from  the  car,  there  was  a  storm  of  cheers.  He 
entered  the  waiting-room ;  then  Mayor  McLane,  to 
use  the  newspaper's  phrase,  said  in  part : 

"Your  Eminence  has  already  received  a  most  hearty  welcome, 
most  properly  extended  to  you  on  your  arrival  in  this  country  by  the 
members  of  the  society  in  which  you  have  shown  so  much  interest, 
and  to  whose  success  you  have  contributed  so  much.  It  becomes 
my  pleasant  duty  to  extend  to  you  a  wider  welcome,  which  embraces 
the  citizens  of  Baltimore  generally,  of  all  creeds  and  conditions,  who, 
one  and  all,  cherish  the  deepest  reverence  and  respect  for  your  great 
and  noble  character. 

"  When  the  news  of  the  death  of  the  late  Pope  reached  us,  it 
was  received  with  a  feeling  of  great  apprehension  by  us  on  account 
of  the  arduous  strain  of  your  great  responsibilities  in  a  trying  climate, 
and  we  feared  its  influence  upon  your  health,  and  the  sympathies  of 


226  IN   THE   LAND   OF 

the  entire  community  went  out  to  you.  To  see  you  return  in  good 
health  is  a  great  pleasure,  and  in  behalf  of  my  fellow-citizens  of 
Baltimore,  I  extend  to  you  a  most  hearty  welcome,  and  the  best 
wishes  of  the  entire  community  for  a  long  life  of  perfect  happiness." 

Then  Judge  Heuisler,  a  Catholic,  spoke  in  the 
name  of  his  co-religionists  whose  devotion  to  their 
Archbishop  he  proclaimed. 

"It  is  true,  your  Eminence,  and  happy  am  I  to  say  it,  that  all 
the  people  of  America  appreciate  you,  revere  you,  and  love  you  for 
the  work  that  you  have  done ;  and  this  greeting,  while  with  us  but 
local,  will  be  heard  with  pleasure  and  with  sympathy  in  all  sections 
of  our  common  country.  In  the  presence  of  profound  emotions  all 
hearts  must  speak  from  out  the  windows  of  the  souls ;  the  eye  must 
flash  the  welcome  and  the  lips  be  dumb ;  and  I  will  say  no  more. 
Cead  mille  failthe  —  a  thousand  million  welcomes." 

The  Cardinal  replied  briefly,  saying  that  he  would 
defer  his  response  until  he  should  reach  the  cathedral. 
The  Mayor  and  the  councillors  then  drove  away  in 
their  carriages,  preceded  by  a  detachment  of  mounted 
police;  the  Cardinal's  carriage  followed,  escorted  by 
some  police  and  the  friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick.  The 
other  societies  stretched  along  the  line  of  march;  the 
band  of  each  one  saluted  the  Cardinal,  who  resembled 
a  general  reviewing  his  army.  Applause  greeted  him 
from  every  window,  full  of  people.  He  bowed  con 
tinuously,  with  a  particular  smile  for  the  numerous 
persons  whom  he  recognized.  In  front  of  the  cathe 
dral  he  was  received  by  a  group  of  young  ladies  in 
white,  fluttering  little  American  flags ;  and  one  of  them 
presented  him  with  a  bouquet  of  sixty-nine  roses — 
one  for  each  year  of  his  life.  The  Cardinal  entered  the 


Copyright,  1904,  by  Daniel  Bendann 


CARDINAL    GIBBONS 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  227 

cathedral,  and  in  a  few  minutes  returned  in  his  scarlet 
cassock,  followed  by  priests  in  surplices ;  then  he  took 
his  seat  on  the  porch,  the  Mayor  sitting  beside  him,  to 
review  the  parade,  which  was  an  hour  in  passing.  When 
the  head  of  the  line  reached  the  cathedral,  he  arose 
amid  a  mighty  shout  and  entered  the  church  with  the 
procession,  while  the  bells  of  every  steeple  rang  out. 
The  Mayor  and  other  civic  dignitaries  took  seats 
reserved  for  them  in  the  centre  aisle,  and  the  crowds 
poured  in  till  the  church  could  hold  no  more. 

From  his  throne  the  Cardinal  addressed  his  audi 
ence  in  the  affectionate  strain  of  a  father  who  had  just 
returned  to  his  own.  He  had  a  friendly  word  for  the 
Mayor  and  his  family.  He  spoke  of  Leo  XIII,  of 
Pius  X,  and  of  the  audience  which  the  new  Pope,  at 
his  request,  had  accorded  to  the  American  pilgrims, 
who  were  the  first  to  be  received  by  His  Holiness. 
He  announced  that  he  would,  at  an  early  date,  give 
his  fellow-citizens  a  full  account  of  the  great  events  in 
which  he  had  taken  part.  He  related  how,  after  the 
fatigue  of  Rome,  he  enjoyed  a  few  days  of  repose  as 
the  guest  of  some  fellow-countrymen  in  Switzerland 
and  Normandy.  "And  now,"  he  concluded,  "I  am 
most  happy  to  be  home  again.  While  there  are  many 
beautiful  places  abroad,  there  is  no  country  like  the 
United  States,  no  State  like  Maryland,  and  no  city 
like  Baltimore."  Having  recommended  Pius  X  to 
the  prayers  of  all,  he  gave  the  kneeling  multitude  his 
blessing,  which  was  followed  by  solemn  benediction. 

The  city  officials  and  some  friends  then  passed 
through  the  sacristy  to  the  archepiscopal  residence, 


228  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

where  the  reception  proceeded  in  a  less  formal  way, 
while  the  bands  of  the  various  societies  continued  to 
play  outside  the  door.  The  Cardinal  was  obliged  re 
peatedly  to  appear  at  the  window  and  thank  anew  the 
crowds  that  never  wearied  of  his  reappearance.  "  Our 
Cardinal  "  is  the  way  in  which  everybody  refers  to  him. 
An  incident  that  was  reported  in  one  of  the  Baltimore 
papers  affords  a  striking  and  thoroughly  American 
proof  of  his  popularity.  A  gentleman  stopped  in  the 
office  of  this  paper,  and  showing  a  one-dollar  note, 
said  proudly:  "You  see  that  dollar?  Cardinal  Gib 
bons  gave  that  dollar  in  payment  of  an  express  package 
this  afternoon,  and  I  asked  the  expressman  how  much 
he  wanted  for  it.  He  replied  that  he  would  take  five 
dollars,  which  I  gave  him  at  once.  Two  minutes 
after  a  lady  offered  me  twenty  dollars  for  it,  which  I 
declined." 

The  celebration  of  October  4  was  more  exclusively 
religious.  Leaving  Washington  at  9  A.  M.,  I  reached 
the  Cardinal's  residence  at  10:30.  He  received  me 
with  that  simple  cordiality  so  characteristic  of  him. 
After  assuring  me,  in  terms  which  admitted  of  no 
refusal,  that  during  my  stay  in  Baltimore  his  house 
should  be  mine,  he  handed  me  over  to  his  secretary, 
who  conducted  me  to  the  stall  in  the  sanctuary  that 
belongs  to  the  rector  of  the  cathedral,  who  was  to  cele 
brate  the  mass.  The  stall  is  alongside  the  throne; 
and  from  it,  half  concealed  by  the  red  draperies,  I  was 
able  to  see  everything. 

There  was  not  a  vacant  spot  in  the  cathedral,  and 
probably  there  were  as  many  Protestants  as  Catholics 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  229 

present.  This  immense  edifice  in  Roman  style,  with 
its  majestic  cupola,  its  large  nave  with  no  side-aisles, 
the  arms  of  its  transept,  its  choir,  and  its  altar  visible 
from  all  points,  lends  itself  perfectly  to  the  carrying 
out  of  a  grand  ceremonial.  Preceded  by  two  hundred 
and  fifty  students  of  the  Seminary — and  this  figure 
alone  is  an  eloquent  testimony  of  the  vitality  of  Ameri 
can  Catholicism  — the  Cardinal,  in  Cappa  Magna,  came 
round  by  the  street  and  made  his  solemn  entrance  by 
the  main  doorway.  The  choir-boys,  who,  previous  to 
the  start,  had  been  making  merry  over  their  office  of 
train-bearers,  without  shocking  His  Eminence,  now 
discharged  it  with  the  gravity  of  court  pages.  The 
choir  and  the  seminarians  brought  out  the  grand  re 
ligious  effect  of  the  plain  chant.  Even  to  its  least 
details,  the  function  was  conducted  with  an  air  of  piety 
and  majesty  that  was  really  admirable.  Those  who, 
some  years  ago,  heard  Archbishop  Ireland  address  a 
meeting  at  the  Faubourg  de  Plaisance  in  Paris,  and 
afterward,  in  the  same  week,  saw  him  officiate  pontifi- 
cally  in  the  church  of  Sainte-Clotilde,  for  the  patronal 
feast,  know  how  Americans,  in  everyday  life  the  least 
ceremonious  of  mortals,  understand  the  respect  due 
to  divine  worship. 

After  the  singing  of  the  Gospel,  the  Cardinal 
mounted  the  pulpit,  read  the  announcements,  the 
Gospel  of  the  day  in  English,  and  began  his  discourse. 
For  me,  the  moment  was  an  impressive  one.  For  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  Christendom  an  American 
cardinal  had  shared  in  the  election  of  a  pope ;  for  the 
first  time,  the  Church  in  America  had,  by  this 


230  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

sovereign  act,  taken  part  in  the  government  of  the 
Church  Universal.  And  now  her  representative,  a 
personage  to  be  noted  by  history,  was  going  to  give 
an  account  of  that  event  to  the  elite  of  the  people. 
And  Providence,  tenderly  attentive  to  what  it  knows 
to  be  good  for  each  of  us,  had  willed  that  without  any 
prevision  on  my  part,  I  should  participate  in  the 
emotion  of  the  hour. 

The  Cardinal  himself  began  by  remarking — so 
dominant  is  the  idea  —  that  the  Conclave  which  had 
just  taken  place  marked  a  new  and  important  era  in 
the  annals  of  the  American  Catholic  Church,  since  it 
was  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Christian 
religion  that  the  United  States,  or  any  part  of  this 
Western  Hemisphere,  was  associated  with  the  other 
nations  of  Christendom  in  selecting  a  successor  to  the 
Chair  of  Peter. 

"  I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised  if  in  the  next  Conclave  the 
Catholic  Church  of  the  United  States  were  to  be  represented  by 
several  members  of  the  Sacred  College,  so  that  the  number  of  cardi 
nals  from  our  country  may  be  commensurate  with  the  population, 
the  grandeur,  and  the  commanding  influence  of  the  nation,  and  may 
be  in  keeping  also  with  the  numerical  strength  of  our  hierarchy  and 
laity  and  the  splendor  and  progress  of  our  religious  and  charitable 
institutions. " 

He  then  recalled  the  conditions  and  severe  regula 
tions  of  the  Conclave. 

"The  cardinals,"  he  stated,  "are  not  angels,  but  men, 
subject  to  the  usual  infirmities  and  ambitions  of  flesh  and  blood ; 
hence  these  precautions.  I  was  present  at  the  Conclave,  and,  with 
out  revealing  its  secrets,  I  can  most  positively  assure  the  American 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  231 

people  that  the  election  of  the  Pope  was  conducted  with  absolute 
freedom,  with  the  utmost  impartiality,  and  with  a  dignity  becoming 
the  august  assemblage  of  the  Sacred  College  and  the  momentous 
consequences  of  their  suffrages,  a  fact  all  the  more  remarkable  that 
representatives  of  twelve  nationalities  took  part  in  the  proceedings." 

After  relating  the  election  and  the  humble  refusal 
of  Cardinal  Sarto,  he  said : 

"We  need  not  be  surprised  at  the  emotion  of  the  Pope  when  his 
election  was  announced,  for  he  was  called  to  the  most  sublime  posi 
tion  to  which  any  man  on  earth  can  aspire.  The  Papacy  is  the  most 
ancient  of  all  existing  dynasties.  It  had  flourished  for  centuries  when 
the  oldest  empire  now  existing  was  established.  A  Pontiff  sat  in  the 
Chair  of  Peter  when  England  was  a  Roman  colony,  and  her  inhab 
itants  were  a  rude,  uncultivated  people,  unacquainted  with  the  arts 
and  refinements  of  civilized  life.  Pius  X  is  the  two  hundred  and 
sixty-fourth  Pope  who,  under  Christ,  has  been  called  to  rule  the 
Church  of  God. 

"The  empire  of  the  Pontiffs  is  coextensive  with  the  globe, 
embracing  children  of  every  clime  and  race  and  tongue,  combining 
in  one  homogeneous  body  the  most  diverse  national  characteristics 
and  temperaments.  It  has  been  justly  said  that  the  sun  never  sets  on 
British  possessions.  It  can  be  also  affirmed  with  equal  truth  that 
wherever  the  British  flag  is  raised  there  also  you  will  find  Christians 
who  bow  with  filial  submission  to  the  spiritual  supremacy  of  the  Pope. 
The  influence  of  the  Papacy  is  more  far-reaching  than  that  of  any 
earthly  ruler.  Kings  and  emperors  and  civil  magistrates  exact  exter 
nal  compliance  with  the  laws  of  the  land.  They  cannot  control  the 
sanctuary  of  the  heart.  The  sovereign  Pontiff,  though  he  has  no 
army  to  enforce  his  commands,  makes  and  interprets  laws  which  bind 
the  consciences  of  men." 

After  the  sermon,  a  magnificent  bass  soloist  and 
the  impressive  choir  of  seminarians,  joined  by  the 
congregation,  sang  the  magnificent  Credo  of  Gounod, 
in  which  the  music,  so  perfectly  in  harmony  with  the 


232  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

words,  discloses  the  artist  inspired  by  the  Christian. 
Here  was  the  Church  in  America,  in  her  mother- 
sanctuary,  joining  with  her  highest  representative  in 
her  profession  of  faith.  Now  I  grasped  the  meaning 
of  this  Church,  with  its  dioceses  increasing  at  the  rate 
of  one  a  year,  with  its  churches  frequented  by  every 
member  of  the  flock,  and  almost  all  strengthened  by 
a  school  in  which  the  faith  is  handed  on,  intact,  from 
generation  to  generation.  The  Credo  which  I  heard 
sung  in  the  twentieth  century,  by  hundreds  of  Ameri 
cans,  is  the  same  which  received  its  definitive  form  in 
far-distant  Constantinople,  in  the  last  days  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  in  the  reign  of  Theodosius,  before 
any  of  the  present  nations  of  Europe  had  come  into 
existence,  and  more  than  a  thousand  years  before 
America  was  discovered.  What  more  striking  mani 
festation  could  be  conceived  of  the  Church's  sublime 
permanence  and  vigorous  vitality?  Never  did  the 
words  of  St.  Paul  come  home  to  me  more  forcibly : 
"  Christ,  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever."  The  visions 
of  discouragement  fled  from  my  soul,  as,  with  tears 
flowing  down  my  cheeks,  I  listened  to  the  triumphant 
"Cujus  regni  non  erit  finis  (Of  his  kingdom  there  shall 
be  no  end)." 

The  ceremony  lasted  more  than  two  hours.  It 
was  half-past  one  when  we  sat  down  to  table  in  the 
episcopal  residence,  which,  as  at  Rochester  and  Peoria, 
is  simply  the  presbytery  of  the  cathedral,  in  which  the 
chief  pastor  lives  with  the  clergy  of  the  parish.  There 
are  no  canons,  honorary  or  titular,  attached  to  any 
church  in  America;  but  they  will  be  established  as 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  233 

soon  as  they  become  necessary.  The  vicars-general 
(as  a  rule  there  is  only  one)  have  usually  charge  of 
a  parish  in  the  episcopal  city.  The  administrative 
machinery  is  evidently  confined  to  what  is  strictly 
necessary. 

Two  hours  after  lunch,  I  observed  filing  out  of  the 
parochial  school,  opposite  the  cathedral,  an  intermin 
able  line  of  boys  and  girls,  wearing  pretty  badges,  and 
preceded  by  choir-boys  in  surplices,  going  to  the 
church  for  vespers.  Another  processional !  What  are 
the  civic  authorities  thinking  about  ?  And  what  were 
they  thinking  about  on  the  evening  of  the  I2th  of 
November,  1889,  when,  amidst  illuminations  and  the 
music  of  bands,  through  the  streets  of  Baltimore, 
filled  with  American  and  pontifical  flags,  30,000 
men,  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  passed  in  review 
before  the  Cardinal  and  a  number  of  bishops  assem 
bled  to  celebrate  the  centenary  of  the  Catholic  episco 
pate  in  the  United  States. 

At  four  o'clock  we  started  for  a  drive.  Usually 
the  Cardinal  walks,  but  to-day  he  takes  a  carriage,  in 
order  that  I  may  see  more  of  the  city.  Almost  every 
body  salutes  him.  One  day,  in  company  with  an 
English  visitor,  he  passed  close  to  a  church  just  as 
service  was  over.  His  companion,  noticing  the  gen 
eral  salutation,  could  not  help  saying,  "  How  much 
attached  your  flock  is  to  you!"  "These  are  Protes 
tants,"  replied  the  Cardinal. 

We  passed  rapidly  through  a  section  of  the  city 
leading  to  Druid  Hill  Park,  a  large  and  delightful 
pleasure-ground.  On  its  western  side,  Baltimore  looks 


234  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

almost  like  a  European  city.  Its  general  aspect  recalls 
the  cities  of  England;  but  it  is  to  Paris  that  the 
inhabitants,  gracefully  and  very  justly,  compare  its 
finest  quarter,  Mount  Vernon  Place,  and  its  neighbor 
hood;  a  very  elegant  square,  the  Washington  Monu 
ment,  the  Peabody  Institute,  with  its  art  gallery  and 
library,  the  Walters  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  rich  in 
the  works  of  Corot,  Troyon,  Delacroix,  Gerome,  Dela- 
roche,  Henner,  Rosa  Bonheur,  Meissonier,  and  other 
good  examples  of  French  painting.  But  the  Ameri 
can  city  gradually  reappears  as  we  pass  from  the 
centre  toward  the  suburbs,  where  once  more  we  are 
amid  long  lines  of  residences,  exquisite  villas,  with 
lawns,  gardens,  woods,  nowhere  marred  by  enclosing 
walls  in  the  European  fashion. 

But  even  amid  these  abodes  of  wealth  we  were 
reminded  of  other  phases  of  social  existence.  We 
met  a  troop  of  two  or  three  hundred  little  orphan  girls 
returning  from  church  in  care  of  some  Sisters  of 
Charity.  Both  sisters  and  children  seemed  so  pleased 
to  see  the  Cardinal,  that  he  gave  orders  to  be  driven 
to  the  asylum.  He  was  standing  at  the  door  when 
the  smiling  band  arrived.  They  all  passed  in  front 
of  him,  which  satisfied  their  curiosity;  and  they  all 
saluted  him  with  a  "  Good  day,  Father,"  which  im 
pressed  me  as  familiar,  certainly,  but  in  a  higher  sense 
it  was  touching.  The  Cardinal  took  time  to  enter  the 
great  hall  with  them,  to  bless  them,  and  ask  them  if 
they  would  accept  a  holiday ;  then  he  left.  "  We  have 
there,"  he  said  to  me,  as  we  came  away,  "more  than 
two  hundred  orphans  whom  the  sisters  bring  up  as  best 


THE    STRENUOUS   LIFE  235 

they  can.  When  they  are  grown  we  send  them  to  the 
City  Industrial  School,  from  which  they  come  out  able 
to  earn  good  wages.  The  State  gives  us  some  aid. 
Generally  speaking,  it  prefers  to  make  grants  to  the 
charitable  institutions  of  the  various  denominations, 
rather  than  undertake  such  work  itself.  It  finds  that 
this  plan  is  less  costly,  and  gives  better  results."  All 
this  is  in  striking  contrast  with  actual  methods  in 
France. 

On  our  return  we  passed  a  former  residence  of  a 
descendant  of  Jerome  Bonaparte,  which  turned  the 
conversation  upon  that  family,  one  of  the  most  Catholic 
in  the  United  States ;  and  one  which,  as  well  by  its 
simple  way  of  living  as  by  the  importance  of  the  public 
services  constantly  rendered  by  it,  has  succeeded,  amid 
the  respect  of  all,  in  supporting  without  embarrassment 
the  burden  of  a  too  famous  name.  The  head  of  the 
family,  Mr.  Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  resides  habitually 
in  Baltimore ;  but  at  that  moment  he  was  in  the 
country. 

We  visited  another  Catholic  family,  very  rich  and 
very  generous,  at  whose  villa,  called  "  Maryland,"  on 
Lake  Geneva,  the  Cardinal  passed  some  days  when 
returning  from  Rome.  Everybody  was  delighted  to 
see  the  Cardinal.  Memories  of  Europe  and  the  morn 
ing's  celebration  were  talked  of.  "  I  saw  you  there," 
said  the  Cardinal.  "Ah,  your  Eminence,"  said  the 
head  of  the  house,  who  is  president  of  several  railroad 
and  navigation  companies,  "  how  proud  one  felt  then 
to  be  a  Catholic! "  I  too  had  divined  a  wave  of  faith 
and  enthusiasm  passing  over  the  entire  assembly. 


236  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

During  our  return  trip  we  had  time  to  talk  of  many 
persons  and  many  things.  A  part  of  our  conversation 
may  perhaps  be  repeated  without  indiscretion.  The 
Cardinal  praised  highly  the  piety  of  Father  Hecker, 
and  the  devoted  wisdom  of  Father  Magnien,  the  for 
mer  Superior  of  Baltimore  Seminary,  who  was  foremost 
in  his  confidence  and  friendship.  He  inquired  about 
the  Montalembert  family,  who  have  had  some  relations 
with  him,  and  who  bear  a  name  that  he  esteems  among 
the  most  honorable  in  the  world.  He  asked  news 
of  Paul  Bourget  also,  whose  visit,  some  years  ago, 
deeply  interested  him ;  he  was  astonished  at  the  accu 
racy  with  which  the  author  of  "  Outre-Mer"  was  able, 
without  having  taken  notes,  to  reproduce  their  conver 
sation.  I  turned  the  conversation  on  the  Cardinal's 
celebrated  work,  "The  Faith  of  our  Fathers,"  and 
learned,  without  suppressing  some  respectful  blame,  that 
the  author  never  received  a  cent  from  the  three  or  four 
hundred  thousand  copies  of  the  American  editions  sold. 
He  readily  conceded  that  instead  of  leaving  all  the  profit 
to  the  publishers,  he  would  have  done  better  to  secure 
some  of  it  for  the  diocesan  charities.  During  the 
nineteenth  century  there  was  probably  no  popular 
work  published  that  succeeded  better  or  did  more 
good  than  this  one.  I  have  in  hand  a  copy  printed 
in  1883, —  that  is,  seven  years  after  the  first  edition; 
it  is  already  in  its  hundred  and  fiftieth  thousand.  In 
it  the  author  explains  very  simply  the  principal  doc 
trines  and  practices  of  Catholicism,  insisting  particularly 
on  those  that  are  most  misunderstood  by  outsiders.  The 
Introduction,  addressed  to  Protestants,  is  very  touching: 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  237 

My  dear  reader,  perhaps  this  is  the  first  time  in  your  life  that 
you  have  handled  a  book  in  which  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  are 
expounded  by  one  of  her  own  sons.  I  do  not  wonder  that  the 
Church  is  hated  by  those  who  learn  what  she  is  from  her  enemies. 
It  is  natural  for  an  honest  man  to  loathe  an  institution  whose  history 
he  believes  to  be  marked  by  bloodshed,  crime,  and  fraud.  Had  I 
been  educated  as  they  were,  in  an  atmosphere  hostile  to  the  Church, 
perhaps  I  should  be  unfortunate  enough  to  be  breathing  vengeance 
against  her  to-day,  instead  of  consecrating  my  life  to  her  defence. 
.  .  .  Should  I  not  be  better  qualified  to  present  to  you  the  Church's 
creed  than  the  unfriendly  witnesses  whom  I  have  mentioned  ?  What 
motive  can  I  have  in  misleading  you  ?  Not  temporal  reward,  since  I 
seek  not  your  money,  but  your  soul  for  which  Jesus  died.  I  could  not  hope 
for  an  eternal  reward  by  gaining  proselytes  at  the  expense  of  truth. 
This,  friendly  reader,  is  my  only  motive  :  I  hold  a  treasure  compared 
with  which  all  earthly  things  are  but  dross  ;  I  long  to  share  it  with  you. 

Our  conversation  drifted  to  some  more  general 
questions.  When  the  Cardinal  speaks  of  America, 
his  words  breathe  the  warmest  admiration  for  her 
institutions ;  comparison  of  them  with  those  of  other 
countries  is  not  able  to  chill  his  sentiments.  He 
rejoices  in  the  splendid  possibilities  which  the  com 
mon  freedom  opens  to  the  Church  and  to  all  well- 
meaning  persons.  He  is  pleased  to  see  Catholics  play 
the  part  of  good  citizens  in  the  affairs  of  the  country ; 
he  himself  sets  the  example  whenever  occasion  arises. 
His  countrymen  like  to  invite  him  to  the  great  public 
ceremonies,  at  which  a  place  is  reserved  for  him  next 
to  the  President.  We  have  already  cited  the  prayer 
which  he  offered,  by  invitation,  at  the  inauguration  of 
the  St.  Louis  Exposition's  preparatory  works. 

"The  excellent  relations  existing  between  the 
Church  and  the  State,"  he  said  to  me,  "as  well  as  the 


238  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

interior  tranquillity  of  the  Church  herself,  are  helped 
by  the  absence  of  religious  daily  newspapers.  We 
have  a  weekly  press  which  does  good  service,  and  that 
suffices.  Beside,  it  is  better  that  we  remain  on  good 
terms  with  newspapers  of  every  shade.  I  should  be  sur 
prised,  for  instance,  if  you  were  not  to  find  to-morrow 
the  celebration  of  this  morning  reported  sympatheti 
cally  and  at  great  length.  Is  that  not  better  than  to 
be  extravagantly  praised  by  one  side,  and  extravagantly 
blamed,  if  not  ignored,  by  the  other  ? "  These  were 
golden  words ;  but  they  apply  to  a  country  where 
religion  is  not  the  butt  of  ceaseless  attack  and  calumny; 
where  good  sense  and  toleration  prevail ;  where  an  im 
pious  and  rancorous  press  like  some  of  our  papers  at 
home,  would  in  a  few  weeks  fall  into  ridicule  and  con 
tempt,  and  incur  the  penalties  of  the  criminal  law. 
The  idea,  however,  deserves  the  consideration  of  our 
religious  editors.  Is  it  not  possible  that  our  religious 
daily  press  would  do  more  good,  if,  ceasing  to  confine 
its  attention  to  a  perpetual  defence  of  the  faith,  it 
should  treat  the  various  questions  of  the  temporal 
order  as  everybody  else  does,  reserving  the  display  of 
its  Catholicism  for  matters  in  which  Catholicism  is  con 
cerned?  Under  no  circumstances  ought  religion  to  be 
made  an  affair  of  party.  It  is  not  exclusively,  nor 
perhaps  chiefly,  apologetics  that  even  the  best  of 
Catholics  want  from  their  newspaper.  In  short,  what 
we  need  is  newspapers  which,  treating  religious  topics 
with  a  special  competence,  in  other  respects  differ 
nowise  from  the  best  type  of  secular  journals.  They 
could,  of  course,  treat  of  theological  or  controversial 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  239 

questions  in  a  weekly  supplement,  and  then  a  much 
larger  number  of  subscribers  would  listen. 

The  Cardinal  confided  to  me,  the  same  day,  some 
further  details  regarding  the  Conclave,  which  at  first  I 
did  not  intend  to  introduce  in  these  pages.  But  recent 
revelations  having  delivered  this  event  unexpectedly 
soon  to  history,  there  can  be  no  imprudence  in  relating 
the  little  that  I  have  received  from  the  lips  of  one  of 
the  electors.  Beside,  he  has  told  the  same  things  to 
others,  and  did  not  impose  secrecy  on  me. 

Though  he  took  no  hand  in  any  intrigue  or  pro 
ceeding  that  would  have  been  unworthy  of  his  character 
and  that  of  the  Conclave,  the  American  Cardinal 
exercised  a  considerable  influence  in  the  election  of 
Pius  X.  The  profound  joy  which  he  expressed  over 
the  choice  of  a  man  who  had  discharged  so  well  the 
functions  of  the  sacerdotal  office  is  enough  in  itself  to 
indicate  how  he  voted;  but  a  certain  incident  shows  in 
addition,  that  he  may  have  had  more  than  his  official 
share  in  determining  the  final  result. 

Our  readers  will  recall  the  details  revealed  by  "a 
witness "  in  touch  with  the  facts,  in  his  brochure 
"Les  derniers  jours  de  Leon  XIII  et  le  conclave." l  On 
Sunday  morning,  August  2,  after  the  third  scrutiny, 
which  registered  29  votes  for  Cardinal  Rampolla,  21 
for  Cardinal  Sarto,  and  9  for  Cardinal  Gotti,  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Cracovia  communicated  the  veto  of  Austria. 
The  admirable  declaration  of  the  former  Secretary  of 
State  gained  for  him,  on  Sunday  evening, one  vote  more; 
he  obtained  30,  while  Gotti  fell  to  3,  and  Sarto  rose  to  24. 

1  Lecoffre,  Paris.      The  author  is  Cardinal  Mathieu. 


24o  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

The  latter  had,  however,  at  the  opening  of  the 
session,  in  tones  of  unfeigned  sincerity,  implored  the 
Conclave  not  to  think  of  him  :  "  Sono  indegno  !  Sono 
incapace !  Dimenticatemi !  (I  am  unworthy!  I  am 
unfit !  Do  not  think  of  me.) "  Humility  like  this 
could  not  fail  to  increase  the  confidence  of  the  Sacred 
College.  So  on  Monday  morning  he  received  27 
votes,  while  Rampolla  had  only  24.  "  But,"  writes 
the  author  of  the  brochure,  "  there  was  still  the  oppo 
sition  of  Cardinal  Sarto  himself  to  overcome,  who 
renewed  his  plaintive  supplication." 

"He  renewed  it  so  earnestly/'  (here  we  quote  our 
own  witness,  Cardinal  Gibbons),  "that  the  assembly 
was  convinced  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to 
seek  another  candidate.  We  were  much  embarrassed," 
continued  the  Cardinal,  "for  the  other  prominent 
candidates  having  been  set  aside,  it  seemed  as  if  we 
had  to  begin  over  again,  and  under  less  favorable 
conditions."  He  expressed  this  view  very  energetically 
to  Cardinal  X,  who,  after  the  sitting,  had  come  to  him 
to  consult  upon  another  choice.  He  persuaded  this 
individual,  who  exercised  great  influence  in  the  Con 
clave,  to  approach  the  Patriarch  of  Venice,  and  appeal 
to  his  conscience  by  pointing  out  to  him,  with  the 
utmost  insistence,  that  to  persist  in  his  refusal  was  to 
run  the  risk  of  going  contrary  to  the  indications  of 
Providence,  the  wish  of  the  Church,  and  his  own 
manifest  duty.1  Remonstrance  and  appeal  to  the 
highest  motives,  at  last  carried  the  day ;  and  Cardinal 

JThe  brochure  of  "  Un  Temoin  "  states  that  this  appeal  to  Cardinal  Sarto  was 
made  "  by  his  personal  friends."  The  Cardinal  referred  to  by  Mgr.  Gibbons  may  have 
gone  in  the  company  of  others. 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  241 

X  returned  to  announce  the  good  news  to  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Baltimore.  "God  be  praised!"  cried  the 
latter;  "but  this  consent  must  be  made  known  to  all, 
for  many  remain  under  the  impression  created  by  the 
former  refusal.  Say  a  word  to  the  Conclave  at  the 
opening  of  the  next  sitting."  This  was  done,  and  at 
the  proper  moment  —  we  return  to  the  text  of  the 
brochure,  whose  author  inserts  a  proper  name  where 
Cardinal  Gibbons  had  employed  an  X  — "  Cardinal 
Satolli  declared  that  Cardinal  Sarto,  yielding  to  the 
pressure  of  his  colleagues,  had  resigned  himself  to  the 
disposition  of  Providence.  He  received  thirty-five 
votes,  seven  less  than  the  necessary  majority.  The 
election  was  assured." 

That  drive,  I  need  scarcely  say,  seemed  very  short 
to  me.  Yet  the  moon  was  up  as  we  reached  the  house. 
Dinner  with  the  Cardinal  and  his  priests,  in  simple, 
everyday  fashion,  was  over  in  time  to  allow  me  to 
catch  a  train  at  a  very  respectable  hour.  The  Cardinal 
did  not  say  good-bye  without  exacting  a  promise  that 
I  should  pay  him  another  visit.  From  Baltimore  to 
Washington,  peacefully  ensconced  in  my  "  Royal 
Blue"  car,  I  reviewed  the  events  of  this  red-letter  day, 
and  felt  that  I  had  abundant  material  for  the  act  of 
thanksgiving  in  my  nightly  prayers.  But  Providence 
had  more  in  store  for  me.  On  reaching  St.  Patrick's, 
Dr.  Stafford  informed  me  that  he  purposed  to  obtain 
for  me  and  my  friend  an  interview  with  the  President. 


242  IN   THE    LAND    OF 


CHAPTER  XII 
AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

The  President  at  Home. —  The  Man  of  the  Strenuous  Life. — 
His  Conversation. —  A  Representative  American. —  The 
Character  and  Ideas  of  Roosevelt  among  Catholics  and 
among  Protestants. —  Sermons  of  a  President. —  Opposed 
to  all  Abuse  and  all  Prejudices. —  National  Act  of  Faith. 
—  The  State,  Religious  and  Neutral. —  "Look  upon  This 
Picture,  and  on  This." 

TLJERE  is  the  White  House,  a  fine  specimen  of 
chaste  Grecian  architecture.  In  this  palace, — 
no,  the  word  palace  is  a  sort  of  anachronism  in  this 
case, —  in  this  house  resides  the  head  of  the  American 
people,  the  chief  executive,  chosen  by  itself,  of  one  of 
the  foremost  nations  of  the  world.  And  his  authority 
is  a  real  authority.  He  enjoys  more  power  than  any 
constitutional  sovereign  in  Europe :  he  has  the  right 
of  veto;  he  appoints  to  all  offices;  his  ministers  are 
not  responsible  to  Congress.  His  fellow-citizens  have 
turned  over  to  him,  with  full  confidence,  the  public 
affairs  of  the  nation.  This  very  year,  when  he  saw 
England  and  Germany  push  their  demands  on  Vene 
zuela  too  far,  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  he 
invited  them  to  withdraw  their  fleets  and  submit  the 
question  to  arbitration ;  and  both  England  and  Ger 
many  acquiesced.  He  is  as  powerful  as  the  Czar, — 
not  as  a  hereditary  autocrat,  but  as  the  executive  of 
the  greatest  democracy  known  to  history. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  243 

How  is  such  a  personage  to  be  approached,  and 
with  what  ceremony  will  he  be  surrounded  ?  Yesterday 
my  friend  Dr.  Stafford  inquired  at  the  White  House 
if  he  might  present  to  the  President  two  French  priests, 
of  whom  one  is  about  to  quit  Washington.  In  reply, 
a  messenger  brings  an  invitation  for  this  morning, 
at  ten  o'clock. 

Ten  minutes  before  the  hour  fixed,  we  arrive  at  the 
Executive  Mansion.  No  sentinel  is  before  the  gate, 
not  a  soldier  is  at  the  entrance,  not  a  uniform  is  visible 
in  the  vestibule.  Two  or  three  reporters,  as  many 
ushers  without  any  badge,  constitute  the  court.  We 
are  escorted  to  a  little  waiting-room,  and  send  up  our 
cards  to  the  chief  of  the  Republic.  "  The  President 
will  be  with  you  presently,"  is  the  answer.  Precisely 
at  ten  o'clock,  Mr.  Roosevelt  opens  the  door  and 
walks  in.  When  Dr.  Stafford  announces  our  names, 
the  President  shakes  our  hands,  bids  us  welcome,  and 
leads  us  into  his  office.  The  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's 
then  presents  Abbe  Sicard  as  a  French  historian  sev 
eral  times  crowned  by  the  Academy,  and  me  as  a  friend 
of  America  and  translator  of  the  works  of  Archbishop 
Ireland  and  of  Bishop  Spalding.  The  President  ex 
cuses  himself  for  speaking  French  poorly,  although  he 
says  he  keeps  in  touch  with  our  literature,  and  he 
shows  us  the  "  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes"  on  his  table. 
So  we  turn  to  English.  But  for  this  preventing  my 
friend  from  taking  part,  I  should  be  delighted;  for  I 
prefer  to  see  Mr.  Roosevelt  at  his  ease  instead  of  being 
preoccupied  about  grammar  and  searching  for  his 
words. 


244  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

The  man  of  the  Strenuous  Life  is  indeed  before  us. 
My  seat  is  quite  close  to  his.  I  miss  no  movement 
of  his  countenance  or  of  his  entire  body,  no  inflection 
of  his  earnest  and  resonant  voice.  A  magnetic  cur 
rent  radiates  from  his  whole  being  and  affects  everyone 
about  him.  I  understand  what  was  meant  by  a  writer 
in  one  of  the  American  reviews,  who  compared  him  to 
a  dynamo,  and  said,  "He  seems  to  explode  his  words." 
He  is  of  medium  height,  but  robust  and  muscular. 
His  round  and  somewhat  full  face,  his  fine  light 
mustache,  his  fresh,  animated  complexion,  his  hair  in 
its  original  abundance,  his  vivacity  of  manner,  give 
him,  notwithstanding  his  five-and-forty  years,  a  youth 
ful  appearance  which  the  cartoonists  do  not  neglect. 
To  this  energetic,  almost  restless,  make-up,  a  pair  of 
blue  eyes  add  that  attribute,  without  which  all  the  rest 
were  nothing,  which  is  called  charm. 

I  remark  that  I  have  just  spent  some  days  as  the 
guest  of  Bishop  Spalding,  who  asked  me  to  present 
his  compliments  to  the  President.  "  I  admire  him  so 
much!"  he  replies.  "He  rendered  us  great  service 
in  the  coal-strike  commission ;  his  advice,  always  wise 
and  always  listened  to  by  other  members,  contributed 
a  great  deal  toward  the  happy  solution  of  that  struggle. 
And  then  what  literary  talent!  He  has  the  gift  of 
style,  which  so  many  of  us  lack.  He  is  a  master  of 
composition." 

Dr.  Stafford  informs  Mr.  Roosevelt  that  I  purpose 
publishing  my  impressions  of  America;  to  which  I 
add,  briefly,  that  I  should  like  to  take  back  to  my 
compatriots  some  object  lessons  of  energy  in  private 


Photograph  by  Frances  15.  Johnston,  Washington 


THEODORE    ROOSEVELT 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  245 

and  of  tolerance  in  public  life.  The  President  approves 
and  encourages.  "We  are  not  perfect,  but  we  love 
liberty  and  respect  it  in  all/'  I  hesitate  to  ask  a 
question  which  circumstances  render  delicate,  knowing, 
beside,  the  sentiments  of  my  illustrious  interlocutor 
on  the  subject,  and  the  statement  that  he  had  made  in 
reference  to  the  arrival  of  so  many  French  nuns  in 
America.  "Let  them  send  us  as  many  as  possible; 
we  can  never  have  too  many  immigrants  of  that  kind." 

I  tell  him  the  title  of  my  book  will  be  "In  the 
Land  of  the  Strenuous  Life";  and,  as  Father  Zahm 
has  assured  me  would  be  the  case,  he  is  delighted  with 
it.  So  I  venture  to  ask  permission  to  dedicate  it  to 
him,  to  which  he  cordially  consents. 

He  asks  me  if  I  have  seen  Dr.  Egan,  Professor  of 
English  Literature  at  the  Catholic  University  in  Wash 
ington.  On  my  replying  that  I  am  to  lunch  with  that 
gentleman  to-morrow,  he  says,  "Tell  him  that  I  am 
now  plunged  in  Celtic."  "  How  can  you  find  time 
for  so  much  reading?"  asks  Dr.  Stafford.  "Oh,  it  is 
a  disease  with  me!"  In  fact,  he  has  also  the  disease 
of  writing,  as  witness  a  dozen  volumes  from  his  pen. 
A  man  like  him,  whom  all  forms  of  activity  attract, 
could  not  neglect  one  so  potent  as  the  book.  Beside, 
whether  he  publishes  a  collection  of  discourses,  like 
"  American  Ideals  "  and  "  The  Strenuous  Life,  "  or 
the  "History  of  New  York,"  "The  Winning  of  the 
West,"  "The  Naval  War  of  1812,"  "The  Rough 
Riders  of  the  Cuban  War,"  or  even  his  reminiscences 
of  hunting  and  ranching,  he  has  always  the  same  end 
in  view ;  and  whether  it  is  through  the  emulation  of 


246  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

heroic  examples,  or  by  actual  deeds,  or  the  beauty 
of  moral  ideas,  his  purpose  ever  is  to  elevate  and 
stimulate  to  higher  effort  the  souls  of  his  fellow-citizens. 
The  theory  of  "art  for  art's  sake"  does  not  seem  to 
him  worthy  of  discussion.  We  may  be  sure  that  when 
President  Roosevelt  leaves  the  White  House,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  will  resume  his  pen. 

The  overwhelming  occupations  of  his  present 
position  restrict  his  utterances  chiefly  to  public  speak 
ing  ;  but  every  one  of  his  addresses,  if  not  remarkable 
for  graces  of  composition,  which  he  has  little  time  to 
think  about,  contains  some  strong  exhortation  to  virtue 
and  courage,  and  abounds  in  concrete  ideas,  the  very 
antithesis  of  that  empty  phraseology  in  which  most 
heads  of  states  willingly  or  necessarily  envelop  them 
selves.  He  delivers,  on  an  average,  at  least  four  or 
five  addresses  a  month;  and  in  each  one  he  says 
enough  important  things  to  make  the  address  notable, 
even  if  it  had  come  from  the  lips  of  a  mere  private 
citizen. 

But  to  come  back  to  our  conversation.  A propos 
of  reading  and  books,  he  inquires,  pencil  in  hand,  the 
titles  of  the  books  written  by  my  friend  and  me. 
Naturally,  I  say  that  these  works  will  be  sent  him  by 
the  authors.  I  tell  him  of  the  success  that  the  French 
translation  of  his  work  on  "  The  Strenuous  Life  "  met 
with;  and  as  I  happen  to  know  the  translator,  we 
spoke  of  her.  "Would  you  like,"  I  ask  him,  "that 
I  should  have  some  other  of  your  works  translated?" 
He  consented  freely,  reminding  me,  however,  that 
several  other  translations  are  in  progress ;  and  he 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  247 

showed  me  a  new  volume  just  received, — "  La  vie 
des  ranches,"  as  far  as  I  could  make  out. 

I  was  not,  I  believe,  playing  the  flatterer,  in  telling 
the  President  that  France  takes  a  great  interest  in  him 
and  his  ideas.  He  then  spoke  of  his  personal  sym 
pathy  with  our  nation.  He  mentioned  the  French 
descent  of  Mrs.  Roosevelt, —  formerly  Miss  Edith 
Kermit  Carew;  and  he  added,  with  evidently  sincere 
satisfaction,  that  he  himself  had  French  blood  in  his 
veins.  That  was  why,  he  continued,  he  had  given  the 
unusual  name  of  Quentin  to  the  youngest  of  his  four 
boys.  As  everybody  knows,  he  belongs  to  an  old 
Dutch  family  that  settled  in  New  York  in  its  early 
period,  and  has  distinguished  itself  continuously  in  com 
merce  and  public  affairs.  Something  less  generally 
known,  though  worthy  of  observation  for  the  light  it 
throws  on  his  many-sided  character,  is  that  several  of 
his  ancestors  married  daughters  of  French  Huguenots; 
that  his  paternal  grandmother  was  Irish ;  and  that  his 
mother,  a  Bullock  of  Georgia,  was  of  Scotch  and 
French  descent.  So  there  is  a  good  dose  of  the  Celt 
in  this  New  York  Dutchman.  But  we  must  remem 
ber  that  above  all  there  are  two  centuries  and  a  half  of 
American  education. 

Dr.  Stafford  congratulated  the  President  on  having 
just  escaped  from  an  attempt  on  his  life  by  a  lunatic, 
who  succeeded  in  making  his  way  into  the  White 
House.  He  was  easily  arrested;  but  one  cannot  but 
experience  a  shock  on  learning  that  the  fellow,  the  day 
before,  on  returning  from  church,  had  actually  shaken 
hands  with  the  President.  "  But,"  Dr.  Stafford  and  I 


248  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

simultaneously  protested,  "ought  not  the  head  of  the 
nation  to  provide  better  for  his  own  protection  ? "  Our 
advice,  I  must  confess,  seemed  to  make  but  little  impres 
sion  on  Mr.  Roosevelt,  who  said  he  did  not  wish  —  and 
who  shall  blame  him? — to  spoil  his  life  by  precautions 
against  hypothetical  dangers.  "  That  fellow,'*  he  said, 
returning  to  the  recent  attempt,  "is  a  fool!  I  do  not 
want  him  injured.  But  how  I  should  have  liked  to  kill 
McKinley's  assassin  ! "  This  memory  gave  a  move 
ment  of  anger;  and  one  felt  that  this  moralist,  orator, 
writer,  statesman,  was  quite  capable  of  coping  physically 
with  any  antagonist.  He  has  done  so,  indeed,  during  his 
presidency,  when  twice  he  personally  overthrew  assail 
ants;  and  several  times,  also,  during  his  bear  and 
buffalo  hunting  expeditions.  He  is  a  complete  man, 
in  whom  mind  and  muscle,  soul  and  body,  are  harmo 
niously  developed,  the  realized  ideal  of  the  nation  to 
which  he  belongs;  who  by  years  of  ranch-life  turned 
an  originally  weak  constitution  into  one  of  robust 
health;  who  in  politics  never  hides  his  convictions; 
who  in  foreign  affairs,  perhaps  like  others,  has  exag 
gerated  the  rights  of  his  own  country;  but  who,  if  we 
judge  him  by  his  intentions  and  acts  as  a  whole,  regu 
lates  his  conduct,  as  he  says,  by  the  motto  of  Lincoln : 
"Do  the  best;  but  if  you  can't  do  the  best,  then  do 
the  best  you  can." 

But  the  precious  moments  pass,  like  all  others.  I 
had  to  take  leave  of  this  great  man  of  action,  with 
Cardinal  Lavigerie,  the  most  interesting  that  I  have 
ever  met.  The  Secretaries  were  announced;  and  Mr. 
Roosevelt  gave  orders  that  nobody  else  should  be 
admitted  that  forenoon.  He  accompanied  us  back  to 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  249 

the  waiting-room,  repeated  with  greater  emphasis  his 
whole-souled  "  Delighted  to  see  you,"  and  gave  us  a 
vigorous  parting  hand-shake.  In  the  corridor  we  passed 
the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  some  of  whom  had  arrived 
on  foot,  others  in  carnages  whose  drivers  wore  no  liv 
eries.  Dr.  Stafford  shook  hands  with  them  hastily, 
and  we  left  the  White  House  just  as  the  President 
and  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  were  entering  the 
council-chamber. 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  Dr.  Stafford  and  I  spoke 
more  than  once  of  President  Roosevelt.  I  have  a  sort 
of  presentiment  that  my  readers  too  will  willingly  do 
so,  and  prolong  the  interview  of  the  White  House. 
They  know  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  not  only  an  eminent 
American,  but  also  a  typical  and  thoroughly  repre 
sentative  one.  From  his  antecedents,  he  is  a  child 
of  his  country;  all  the  races  commingled  in  it  have 
contributed  something  to  his  veins.  He  has  passed 
through  the  whole  national  system  of  education,  from 
the  common  schools  to  the  university ;  from  the  con 
duct  of  public  and  private  business  to  the  free,  half-wild 
life  of  the  plains ;  from  the  struggle  of  politics  to  that 
of  war  itself;  and  finally  to  the  highest  political  office. 
All  that  an  American  can  do  he  has  done,  and  done 
well.  He  has  resolved  for  himself  the  grand  problem 
which  he  states  in  striking  terms  in  the  preface  to  his 
"  American  Ideals,"  namely,  that  if  it  is  relatively  easy 
"  to  be  virtuous  in  a  cloistered  and  negative  way,  or 
to  succeed  by  a  sacrifice  of  principle,  it  is,  on  the  other 
hand,  by  no  means  easy  to  combine  honesty  and 


IN   THE    LAND    OF 

efficiency,  and  yet  it  is  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to 
do  any  work  really  worth  doing."  His  adversaries, 
and  even  his  friends,  may  sometimes  have  had  reason 
to  reproach  him  for  not  exercising  sufficient  caution  in 
his  fight  against  abuses  and  prejudices ;  but  nobody 
can  insinuate  that  he  has  ever  failed  in  honesty,  in 
frankness,  or  in  the  courage  to  risk  everything  for 
duty.  Without  any  of  that  optimistic  spirit  which 
sacrifices  the  good  that  is  attainable  for  some  unat 
tainable  better,  he  has  always  shown  himself  faithful 
to  the  maxim  of  Franklin,  which  the  American  child 
copies  as  he  is  learning  to  write,  "  Honesty  is  the  best 
policy."  No  example  has  inculcated  more  forcibly  than 
his  the  truth  of  an  observation  which  deserves  to  be 
meditated  by  us,  as  by  everybody  else,  according  to 
which  the  happiness  of  a  country  would  be  assured 
if  the  good  people  in  it  were  as  courageous  as  the 
others. 

Though  a  part  of  the  population  condone  illegal 
violence  and  homicide,  he  protests  against  this  bar 
barism,  and  lynching  has  no  stronger  opponent ;  these 
summary  executions,  aggravated  as  they  frequently  are 
by  torture,  inspired  him  to  write  this  tragic  sentence: 
"Anybody  who  has  ever  put  a  criminal  to  death  by 
the  horrible  torture  of  fire  must  carry  ever  afterwards 
in  his  brain  and  in  his  heart  the  frightful  spectacle  of 
his  own  act.  He  can  never  again  be  the  same  man." 
If  he  judges  that  the  nation  makes  a  mistake  in  its 
treatment  of  the  negro,  he  speaks  in  the  negro's 
defence.  And  he  does  more  than  speak :  one  day 
he  receives  at  the  White  House  the  most  prominent 


THE    STRENUOUS   LIFE  251 

representative  of  that  despised  race ;  without  consider 
ing  the  probable  protestations  of  his  own  party,  or  asking 
himself  whether  the  action  may  not  alienate  the  entire 
South,  he  invites  Booker  T.  Washington  to  sit  at  the 
President's  table.  Just  as,  when  Commissioner  of  Police 
in  New  York,  he  personally  conducted  his  subordinates 
in  the  investigation  of  the  most  dangerous  slums,  so 
to-day,  as  President  of  the  Republic,  he  is  first  to 
raise  his  voice  against  every  form  of  vice  and  preju 
dice,  against  corruption  in  private  and  public  life, 
against  false  ideas,  dangerous  doctrines,  irreligion,  im 
morality,  and  anti-social  or  anti-patriotic  theories. 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  tell  how  often  the  following 
passage  from  one  of  his  works  has  been  reproduced: 

When  men  fear  labor,  or  fear  a  just  war,  when  women  fear 
the  burden  of  maternity,  they  tremble  on  the  brink  of  damnation,  and 
the  best  thing  they  could  do  would  be  to  disappear  from  the  earth, 
where  they  are  the  scorn  of  all  the  men  and  women  who  are  them 
selves  strong  and  brave. 

Here  are  some  others:  "Because  a  courtier  is  a  knave,  it  does 
not  follow  that  a  demagogue  may  not  be  a  scoundrel."  "The 
worst  enemies  of  America  are  the  enemies  of  that  orderly  liberty  with 
out  which  our  Republic  could  not  exist,  and  the  popular  agitator  who 
excites  the  people  to  disturbance  is  the  most  dangerous  foe  of  the 
workingman."  "But,"  the  writer  proceeds,  "such  an  one  can  do 
no  more  harm  than  is  done  by  the  narrow-minded,  grasping,  selfish 
employer,  who  deliberately  endeavors  to  keep  his  employees  in  a 
condition  of  dependence,  so  that  they  may  be  incapable  of  uniting 
against  him."  The  force  of  the  following  declaration  is  obvious: 

"  We  cannot  blame  too  severely  the  wealthy  who  sacrifice  every 
thing  to  the  accumulation  of  wealth.  There  is  no  more  ignoble 
type  in  the  world  than  the  American  seeker  of  millions,  who,  insen 
sible  to  everv  duty,  indifferent  to  every  principle,  thinks  only  of 


252  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

amassing  a  fortune,  and  uses  that  fortune  in  the  basest  ways,  either 
by  speculating  in  the  stock  market,  or  in  wrecking  some  railroad  com 
pany,  or  allowing  his  son  to  live  in  costly  idleness  and  gross  debauch 
ery,  or  buying  for  his  daughter  some  good-for-nothing  foreigner  with 
a  title."  Elsewhere  he  denounces  those  who  do  not  fear  to  disparage 
patriotism  as  an  egotistic  virtue,  and  he  declares  that,  "  However 
things  may  be  in  a  future  impossible  to  foresee,  at  present  the  man 
who  loves  other  countries  as  much  as  his  own  is  as  injurious  to  society 
as  the  man  who  loves  other  women  as  well  as  his  wife." 

Finally,  when  a  small  number  of  fanatics,  who  were 
destined  to  meet  a  speedy  discomfiture,  formed  a  league 
against  Catholicism  as  a  foreign  ("  Roman  "  is  the  word 
in  France  to-day)  religion,  he  was  among  the  first  to 
rise,  and,  with  admirable  force,  to  protest  against  this 
return  to  the  ages  of  barbarism : 

"We  are  equally  opposed  to  any  discriminations  against  or  for  a 
man  because  of  his  creed.  We  demand  that  all  citizens,  Protestant 
and  Catholic,  Jew  and  Gentile,  shall  have  fair  treatment  in  every 
way ;  that  all  alike  shall  have  their  rights  guaranteed  them.  The 
very  reasons  that  make  us  unqualified  in  our  opposition  to  State-aided 
sectarian  schools  make  us  equally  bent  that,  in  the  management  of 
our  public  schools,  the  adherents  of  each  creed  shall  be  given  exact 
and  equal  justice,  wholly  without  regard  to  their  religious  affiliations ; 
that  trustees,  superintendents,  teachers,  scholars,  all  alike,  shall  be 
treated  without  any  reference  whatsoever  to  the  creed  they  profess. 
We  maintain  that  it  is  an  outrage,  in  voting  for  a  man  for  any  position, 
whether  State  or  National,  to  take  into  account  his  religious  faith,  pro 
vided  only  he  is  a  good  American.  When  a  secret  society  does  what 
in  some  places  the  American  Protective  Association  seems  to  have 
done,  and  tries  to  proscribe  Catholics  both  politically  and  socially, 
the  members  of  such  society  show  that  they  themselves  arc  as  utterly 
un-American,  as  alien  to  our  school  of  political  thought,  as  the  worst 
immigrants  who  land  on  our  shores.  Their  conduct  is  equally  base 
and  contemptible ;  they  are  the  worst  foes  of  our  public-school  system, 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  253 

because  they  strengthen  the  hands  of  its  ultramontane  enemies ;  they 
should  receive  the  hearty  condemnation  of  all  Americans  who  are 
truly  patriotic.** 

The  virtues  which  Theodore  Roosevelt  recom 
mends  to  others  he  does  not  fail  to  practise  himself. 
Optimistic  and  active,  with  confidence  in  God  and  in 
the  future  of  his  country,  he  certainly  deserves  the 
credit  (to  use  his  own  expression)  of  regarding  without 
apprehension  the  present  and  the  future  of  his  country, 
turning  his  eyes  to  the  light  wherever  the  light  is  visi 
ble,  and  bravely  playing  his  part  among  men.  This 
preacher  of  energy  is  the  most  energetic  of  Americans. 
He  does  not  glorify  the  family  without  being  a  model 
husband,  and  he  lives  sufficiently  under  the  public  eye 
for  everybody  to  know  whether  he  lives  up  to  his  pro 
fessed  ideal,  which  presents  father  and  mother  united 
as  friends  with  equal  rights,  children  attached  to  parents 
by  the  bonds  of  affection  and  of  obedience  all  the  more 
strong  because  they  are  treated  as  rational  beings  with 
rights  of  their  own,  which  involve  a  change  in  the 
family  organization  with  the  passing  of  the  years, — 
an  ideal  in  favorable  contrast  with  the  old  one  of  a 
family  ruled  by  a  benevolent  tyrant.  If  he  proclaims 
military  virtues  and  patriotism  to  be  indispensable  to 
the  life  of  nations ;  if  he  says  that  war  is  an  evil,  but 
not  the  greatest  of  evils,  and  that  there  are  some  things 
which  are  not  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  desire  for  peace, — 
it  is  to  be  remembered  that  at  the  age  of  twenty-six, 
when  he  was  already  a  Member  of  Congress,  he  enlisted 
in  the  Eighth  Regiment  of  the  New  York  National 
Guard,  to  fit  himself  to  fight  for  his  country  in  case  of 


254  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

need;  and  that  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Cuban  war  he 
resigned  the  assistant  Secretaryship  of  the  Navy  to  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  of  heroes  like  him 
self,  the  "  Rough  Riders,"  and  showed  himself  a  model 
of  enterprise  and  daring.  In  vain  did  his  friends  urge 
that  he  could  render  more  service  by  remaining  at  his 
post  in  the  administration ;  in  vain  did  they  speak  to 
him  of  his  wife  and  children.  He  replied  that  he  was 
among  those  who  judged  that  a  war  with  Spain  was 
necessary,  and  who  urged  and  promoted  it,  and  that  he 
was  not  going  to  carry  out  his  policy  by  sitting  at  his 
fireside  while  others  were  fighting  for  that  policy. 

We  might  prolong  the  parallel  between  Mr.  Roose 
velt's  words  and  deeds,  were  it  not  that  the  subject 
might  lead  us  upon  ground  where  a  stranger  might 
easily  fall  into  error.  One  thing,  however,  that  I 
learned  with  certainty  during  my  visit,  is  that  when 
a  scandal  was  discovered  in  one  of  the  departments 
involving  some  high  officials  belonging  to  the  Repub 
lican  party,  he  permitted  neither  threats  nor  prayers  to 
prevent  him  from  ordering  a  rigorous  investigation  and 
insisting  on  the  punishment  of  the  culprits.  At  a 
ceremony  —  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  General 
Sherman — which  I  shall  have  to  describe,  I  heard  him 
exclaim,  with  an  energy  almost  ferocious,  in  tones  that  I 
can  now  recall :  "  We  can  as  little  afford  to  tolerate  a 
dishonest  man  in  the  public  service  as  a  coward  in  the 
army.  The  murderer  takes  a  single  life;  the  corrup- 
tionist  in  public  life,  whether  he  be  a  bribe-giver  or 
bribe-taker,  strikes  at  the  heart  of  the  commonwealth. 
In  every  public  service,  as  in  every  army,  there  will  be 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  255 

wrong-doers,  there  will  occur  misdeeds.  This  cannot 
be  avoided ;  but  vigilant  watch  must  be  kept,  and  as 
soon  as  discovered  the  wrong-doing  must  be  stopped 
and  the  wrong-doers  punished." 

But  it  is  to  his  attitude  on  religious  affairs  that  we 
would  draw  further  attention,  both  because  it  is  a 
crucial  subject,  and  also  because  it  is  the  one  in  which 
my  own  country  stands  most  in  need  of  examples  and 
of  education.  The  citation  given  some  pages  back, 
in  the  account  of  the  President's  visit  to  the  Jesuits 
of  St.  Louis,  sufficiently  attests  that  he  is  a  faithful 
observer  of  the  principle  mentioned  first  in  the  Amend 
ments  to  the  Constitution  :  "  Congress  shall  make  no 
law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion  or  prohibit 
ing  the  free  exercise  thereof."  This  tolerance  seems 
to  Mr.  Roosevelt  an  essential  point  of  the  national 
character ;  he  enumerates  it  among  the  dispositions 
which  all  the  immigrants  who  wish  to  enter  into  the 
national  family  must  exhibit.  "We  must/'  he  says, 
"Americanize  them  in  every  way,  —  in  speech,  in 
principles,  in  political  ideas,  in  their  way  of  regard 
ing  the  relations  between  Church  and  State.  .  .  . 
Whatever  his  religion  or  birthplace,  we  welcome  sin 
cerely  and  cordially  any  one  who  comes  here  resolved 
to  become  a  good  citizen  of  the  United  States ;  we 
have,  in  return,  the  right  to  demand  that  he  shall  not 
embroil  the  questions  that  occupy  us  by  introducing 
among  us  the  quarrels  and  prejudices  of  the  Old 
World.  There  are  certain  ideas  which  he  must  aban 
don.  For  example,  he  will  learn  that  the  American 


256  IN   THE   LAND   OF 

spirit  is  incompatible  with  any  form  whatever  of 
anarchy,  or  of  secret  societies  having  for  their  object 
murder,  either  here  or  abroad;  he  will  learn  also,  that 
we  insist  upon  complete  religious  toleration,  and  the 
separation  of  Church  and  State.  .  .  .  The  lesson  is 
the  same  for  all  the  peoples  who  come  here,  whatever 
be  their  race.  It  is  the  same  for  all  the  churches.  A 
church  which  remains  alien  in  speech  or  in  spirit  is 
destined  to  disappear/' 

The  conduct  and  language  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  will 
throw  still  more  light  upon  the  sentiment  of  Ameri 
cans.  They  hold  fast  to  the  reciprocal  independence 
of  the  civil  and  religious  domains.  But  this  does  not 
mean  that  among  them  Church  and  State  are  antago 
nistic,  nor  even  that  they  ignore  each  other.  The 
State  is  sincerely  neutral  toward  all  denominations ;  it 
is  not  indifferent  to  religion  ;  it  is  bound  to  no  church, 
but  it  is  religious ;  and  its  religion  is  composed  of  the 
principles  essential  to  all  real  worship;  its  religion  is 
made  up  of  a  belief  in  God,  and  the  observances  which 
this  fundamental  dogma  entails.  Nay,  more,  the  State 
is  Christian;  without  antagonizing  the  Jews  or  the 
representatives  of  beliefs  more  or  less  pagan,  it  takes 
its  stand  upon  the  Gospel  truths  acknowledged  by  all 
Christians.  When  it  renders  public  honor  to  God  it 
selects  a  Christian  minister  —  sometimes  a  Catholic, 
sometimes  a  Protestant — to  offer  prayer  on  solemn 
public  occasions. 

Let  us  now  observe  Mr.  Roosevelt,  no  longer  in 
his  writings  or  in  private  conversation,  but  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  speaking  of  religion  on  three 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  257 

characteristic  occasions,  twice  as  a  guest  at  Christian 
gatherings,  the  other  time  when  in  the  exercise  of  his 
supreme  office  he  addressed  the  entire  nation. 

On  the  i6th  of  August,  1903,  two  thousand  mem 
bers  of  the  Holy  Name  Society,  whose  object  is  the 
suppression  of  profane  language,  assembled  at  Oyster 
Bay,  Long  Island,  the  home  of  President  Roosevelt. 
The  President  was  invited  to  the  meeting;  he  accepted, 
and  took  his  seat  on  the  platform  amid  a  score  of  priests. 
He  began  by  saying  how  fortunate  he  was  to  have  the 
chance  of  welcoming  the  society  there,  a  privilege  to 
which  he  claimed  some  right,  since  he  had  been  the 
first  man  to  put  down  his  name  for  a  subscription 
toward  the  erection  of  the  local  church.  Then  he 
delivered  a  spirited  impromptu  address,  on  the  excel 
lence  of  the  society's  object,  on  the  necessity  of  cour 
age  and  of  decency,  in  which  he  said : 

"  I  am  particularly  glad  to  see  such  a  society  as  this  flourishing 
as  your  society  has  flourished,  because  the  future  welfare  of  our  nation 
depends  upon  the  way  in  which  we  can  combine  in  our  men  —  in  our 
young  men  —  decency  and  strength.  Just  this  morning,  when  attend 
ing  service  on  the  great  battle-ship  «  Kearsarge/  I  listened  to  a  sermon 
addressed  to  the  officers  and  enlisted  men,  in  which  the  central 
thought  was  that  each  American  must  be  a  good  man  or  he  cannot  be 
a  good  citizen.  And  one  of  the  things  dwelt  upon  in  that  sermon 
was  the  fact  that  a  man  must  be  clean  of  mouth  as  well  as  clean  of 
life,  must  show  by  his  words  as  well  as  by  his  actions  his  fealty  to  the 
Deity  and  to  the  Saviour,  if  he  is  to  be  what  we  have  a  right  to  expect 
from  men  wearing  the  national  uniform.  We  have  good  Scriptural 
authority  for  the  statement  that  it  is  not  what  comes  into  a  man's 
mouth,  but  what  goes  out  of  it,  that  counts.  ...  I  expect  you  to 
be  strong.  I  could  not  respect  you  if  you  were  not ;  I  do  not  want 
to  see  Christianity  professed  only  by  weaklings.  I  want  to  see  it  a 


258  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

moving  spirit  among  very  young  men,  and  among  boys  who  are  not 
quite  young  men  as  yet,  who  think  that  to  be  wicked  is  rather  smart ; 
it  shows  that  they  are  men.  Oh,  how  often  you  see  some  young 
fellow  who  boasts  that  he  is  going  to  see  life,  meaning  that  part  of 
life  which  is  a  thousand-fold  better  if  it  remain  unseen.  I  ask  that 
every  man  here  constitute  himself  his  brother's  keeper,  by  setting  an 
example  to  that  younger  brother  which  will  prevent  him  from  getting 
such  a  false  estimate  of  life  as  that. 

"  Example  is  the  most  potent  of  all  things.  If  any  of  you  in 
the  presence  of  younger  boys,  and  especially  of  the  younger  people 
of  your  family,  misbehaves  himself,  if  you  use  coarse  and  blasphemous 
language  before  them,  you  can  be  sure  that  these  younger  people  will 
follow  your  example  and  not  your  precept.  .  .  . 

"  I  have  told  you  that  I  want  you  not  only  to  be  decent,  but  to 
be  strong.  These  boys  are  not  going  to  admire  virtue  that  is  of  a 
purely  anaemic  type.  If  you  are  to  be  effective  as  good  Christians, 
you  have  got  to  possess  strength  and  courage,  or  your  example  will 
count  for  little  with  the  young.  .  .  .  We  expect  of  you  that  you 
will  show  in  actual  practice  the  faith  that  is  in  you.1' 

Evidently  this  is  not  a  carefully  prepared  piece 
of  artistic  composition.  But  the  head  of  a  nation  who 
expresses  himself  with  this  simplicity,  in  an  assembly 
of  young  Catholics,  urging  them  to  honor  the  name 
of  God,  can  claim  admiration  of  a  higher  order  than 
that  which  is  awarded  by  the  literary  critic. 

Such  as  he  shows  himself  among  Catholics,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  is  also  among  Protestants.  On  the  25th  of 
October  were  held  the  closing  exercises  of  the  Pan- 
American  Congress  of  Bishops  of  the  Protestant  Epis 
copal  Church.  An  audience  of  eight  thousand  people 
was  present  at  the  services,  which  were  held  in  the 
open  air.  The  Marine  Band,  with  cassocks  and  sur 
plices  over  their  uniforms,  led  the  procession,  followed 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  259 

by  five  hundred  choristers,  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
clergy  of  Washington,  and  many  of  the  visiting  bishops. 
President  Roosevelt  took  his  place  on  the  platform 
among  the  bishops.  The  services  opened  with  "  Our 
Father,"  which  was  followed  by  liturgical  prayers. 
Bishop  Satterlee  of  Washington,  in  some  introduc 
tory  remarks,  referred  to  the  President  as  "  His  Excel 
lency."  Mr.  Roosevelt  turned  to  a  gentleman  beside 
him,  and  remarked  in  a  tone  loud  enough  to  be  heard 
by  the  bishop,  "  I  do  not  like  that ;  I  wish  he  would 
not  say  that."  A  moment  later,  Bishop  Satterlee,  in 
referring  to  him,  said  "The  President";  whereupon 
Mr,  Roosevelt  remarked,  "  I  like  that;  that  is  right." 
Then  he  addressed  the  assembly;  and  if  we  cannot 
reproduce  his  sermon  in  extenso,  the  exordium  at  least 
may  well  be  recalled: 

*'  Bishop  Satterlee,  and  to  you  representatives  of  the  Church,  at 
home  and  abroad,  and  to  all  of  you,  my  friends  and  fellow-citizens, 
I  extend  greetings,  and  in  your  name  I  especially  welcome  these  who 
are  in  a  sense  the  guests  of  the  nation.  In  what  I  am  about  to  say 
to  you,  I  wish  to  dwell  upon  certain  thoughts  suggested  by  three 
different  quotations.  In  the  first  place,  '  Thou  shalt  serve  the  Lord 
with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind';  the 
next,  '  Be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves';  and, 
finally,  in  the  collect  that  you,  Bishop  Doane,  have  just  read,  'That 
we,  being  ready  both  in  body  and  soul,  may  accomplish  the  things 
which  thou  commandest.'  ' 

The  discourse  itself,  which  had  little  more  than  a 
nominal  moral  connection  with  these  texts,  insisted 
upon  the  necessity  of  serving  God  and  of  accomplish 
ing  one's  duty  with  energy  and  hearty  good-will.  It 
was  not  logical,  like  one  of  Bourdaloue's  sermons,  and 


260  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

it  would  almost  defy  analysis;  but  two  or  three 
especially  characteristic  passages  will  indicate  its  spirit, 
if  not  its  general  tenor : 

"In  the  eternal  war  for  righteousness,  the  friends  of  the  good 
need  to  remember  that,  in  addition  to  being  decent,  they  must  be 
efficient ;  that  good  intentions,  high  purposes,  cannot  be  a  substitute 
for  power  to  make  these  purposes,  these  intentions,  felt  in  action. 
We  must  have  the  purpose  and  the  intention.  But  in  addition  to 
being  guided  aright,  we  must  cultivate  the  power  also.  .  .  . 

"  Small  is  our  use  for  the  man  who  individually  helps  any  of  us, 
but  shows  that  he  does  it  grudgingly.  We  had  rather  not  be  helped 
than  helped  in  that  way.  .  .  .  So  in  the  service  of  the  Lord,  if 
we  serve  him,  if  we  serve  the  cause  of  righteousness  in  a  way  that 
impresses  others  that  we  are  sad  in  doing  it,  our  service  is  robbed 
of  an  immense  proportion  of  its  efficacy. 

"  I  call  your  attention  to  something  that  is  especially  my  business 
for  the  time  being,  and  that  is  your  business  all  the  time,  or  else  you 
are  unfit  to  be  citizens  of  this  Republic.  In  one  of  the  hymns, 
in  the  last  line,  you  joined  in  singing  'God  Save  the  State';  do 
you  intend  merely  to  sing,  or  to  try  to  do  it?  If  you  intend  merely 
to  sing,  your  part  will  be  small.  The  State  will  be  saved  if  the 
Lord  puts  it  into  the  heart  of  the  average  man  so  to  shape  his  life 
that  the  State  shall  be  worth  saving,  and  only  on  these  conditions. 
...  I  do  not  ask  you  as  practical  believers  to  take  part,  one  way 
or  the  other,  in  matters  that  are  merely  political.  There  are  plenty 
of  questions  about  which  honest  men  may  and  do  differ  very  intensely. 
.  .  .  But  there  are  also  certain  great  principles  concerning  which 
no  man  has  a  right  to  any  but  one  opinion.  .  .  .  Honesty  in  public 
and  in  private  life  should  be  the  foundation  of  everything;  not  merely 
the  honesty  that  keeps  its  skirts  technically  clear,  but  the  honesty 
which  is  according  to  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  the  law ;  the 
honesty  that  is  aggressive;  that  not  merely  deplores  corruption, — it 
is  easy  enough  to  deplore  corruption, —  but  that  wars  against  it,  and 
tramples  it  under  foot.  I  ask  for  that  type  of  honesty :  I  ask  for 
militant  honesty." 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  261 

At  the  close  of  the  ceremony,  an  Anglican  bishop 
from  India,  speaking  in  the  name  of  his  English  col 
leagues,  said  that  he  saw  in  Mr.  Roosevelt  "the  mili 
tant  Christian/'  a  eulogy  which  drew  forth  thunders 
of  applause.  As  a  final  proof  that  this  title  is  well 
deserved,  and  accurately  renders  the  ordinary  inspira 
tion  of  the  President's  words  and  deeds,  one  might 
cite  the  profoundly  religious  sentiments  expressed  in 
his  Thanksgiving  Proclamation  of  1903.  Here,  how 
ever,  Mr.  Roosevelt  has  but  followed  in  the  footsteps 
of  his  predecessors. 

It  is  usually  best  to  leave  facts  to  suggest  their  own 
lesson.  But  at  the  close  of  this  chapter,  in  which  we 
have  clearly  seen  the  attitude  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  toward  religion,  I  may  perhaps  venture 
to  draw  a  comparison  which  will  forcibly  illustrate  the 
present  crisis  in  my  own  country.  While  the  modern 
world  seems  moving  on  toward  a  condition  of  things 
in  which  the  State,  though  continuing  to  render  public 
worship  to  God,  will  refrain  from  any  intervention  MI 
the  affairs  of  the  different  sects,  treating  all  with  per 
fect  neutrality,  in  France  the  State  contrives  to  show 
itself  aggressively  hostile,  and  at  the  same  time  main 
tains  its  close  connection  with  the  churches ;  while 
refusing  to  honor  God,  or  even  to  recognize  Him  in 
any  way,  it  yet  claims  the  right  of  interfering  in  the 
election  of  the  ministers  of  religion,  whom  it  treats  as 
mere  functionaries.  In  a  word,  the  future  seems  to 
belong  to  a  State  which  shall  be  religious  and  neutral; 
France  is  atheistic  and  interventional.  It  is  improbable 
that  this  condition  of  things  can  last  long. 


262  IN   THE    LAND    OF 


CHAPTER    XIII 
REMINISCENCES    OF    WASHINGTON 

A  Capital  City. —  St.  Patrick's  Rectory, — A  Clerical  Orator, 
Dr.  Stafford.  —  A  "  Mixed  Marriage  "  Ceremony.  — 
Catholic  University  of  America. — Apostolic  Mission  House. 
—  Discourse  of  Archbishop  Glennon. —  Higher  Education 
of  Catholic  Women. —  Trinity  College. —  Columbian  Uni 
versity. —  The  International  Bureau  of  American  Repub 
lics. —  Is  a  Pan-American  Soul  Being  Formed  ? 

OH  ALL  I  confess  it?  About  the  city  of  Washing 
ton,  its  general  aspects,  its  monuments,  its  museums, 
there  is  nothing  in  my  notes  of  travel,  and  in  my  mind 
I  find  but  few  impressions  to  revive.  Perhaps  that  is 
because,  having  remained  there  a  longer  time  than  any 
where  else,  I  became  familiarized  with  the  city,  and  felt 
so  much  at  home  that  things  ceased  to  impress  me. 
Moreover,  for  a  European,  Washington  is  less  discon 
certing,  and  on  that  account  in  one  sense  less  remark 
able,  than  other  American  cities,  as  being  less  busy, 
less  noisy,  less  disproportioned.  A  few  extremes  appear 
here  and  there,  —  for  instance,  in  the  excessive  length 
of  the  wings  and  the  exaggerated  height  of  the  dome 
of  the  Capitol,  a  building  in  other  respects  imposing 
and  majestic.  But  on  the  whole  the  dominant  char 
acteristics  of  Washington  are  calmness  and  harmony. 
There  is  something  of  Versailles  in  the  great  avenues 
which  spread  out  in  every  direction  from  the  Capitol 
to  the  boundaries  of  the  city ;  and  something  of  the 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  263 

Champs  Elysees  in  the  splendid  squares  which  lie  on 
one  side  of  the  little  Executive  Mansion  with  its  Ionic 
columns,  while  on  the  other  side,  beyond  artificial 
ponds  and  gardens,  the  view  stretches  out  in  distant 
perspective  to  the  Washington  Monument.  Almost 
nowhere  are  there  any  industrial  establishments;  the 
commerce  is  no  greater  than  what  is  needed  to  supply 
the  wants  of  the  luxurious  city  itself,  and  none  of  the 
buildings  pierce  the  clouds  because  the  height  of  no 
edifice  can  be  greater  than  the  width  of  the  street.  All 
this  does  not  prevent  Washington  from  attaining  to 
a  population  of  three  hundred  thousand.  Of  these, 
many  are  connected  with  the  Nation's  political  and 
administrative  life,  —  with  Congress,  with  the  Presi 
dency,  with  the  Federal  ministries,  with  the  diplomatic 
bodies,  with  the  army  and  navy.  Beside  these,  in 
ever-increasing  numbers,  we  find  fashionable  people, 
artists,  writers,  more  or  less  active  representatives  of 
the  so-called  liberal  professions;  finally,  —  two-thirds 
white  and  one-third  black, —  the  people  who  live  by 
all  these,  and  who  help  them  to  live. 

Politically  under  a  special  regime,  —  since  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia  constitutes  a  sort  of  State  by  itself, 
directly  dependent  upon  Congress  for  the  administra 
tion  of  its  affairs, —  Washington  differs  from  the  other 
cities  of  the  United  States  by  its  dignified  and  rather  cold 
appearance  (somewhat  as  that  of  a  high-born  matron), 
by  its  more  national  preoccupations,  its  wider  range 
of  politics,  its  more  noble  ideas,  and  its  less  material  life. 
From  all  parts  of  the  Union  the  people  turn  to  it,  not 
with  jealousy,  but  rather  with  pride  and  the  generous 


264  IN   THE   LAND    OF 

desire  of  making  it  a  capital  worthy  of  the  country. 
Congress  does  not  hesitate  over  the  expenses  necessary 
to  embellish  it,  and  when,  for  example,  a  few  years  ago, 
a  National  library  was  constructed,  more  than  thirty 
millions  were  appropriated  for  the  building  alone, — 
so  much  gold  and  precious  marble  being  used  that  at 
present  the  luxurious  effect  seems  somewhat  wanting 
in  taste,  and  one  must  wait  for  the  action  of  years  to 
deaden  the  excessive  brilliancy.  It  is  pretty  much 
the  same,  indeed,  almost  everywhere  in  the  United 
States.  What  the  Nation  needs  most,  is  to  have  aged 
awhile.  But  perhaps  that  is  a  lesser  defect  than  to  have 
aged  too  long ;  perhaps  in  the  long  run  the  want  of  a 
past  is  repaired  more  easily  than  the  want  of  present 
vigor  and  of  future  possibilities. 

I  had  the  good  fortune  to  pass  my  three  weeks  in 
Washington  at  St.  Patrick's  Rectory,  or  the  "  Red 
House/1  as  the  numerous  friends  of  Dr.  Stafford 
laughingly  call  it,  wishing  by  this  name  —  which  is 
justified  also  by  the  bricks  of  the  old  edifice  —  to 
suggest  a  flattering  relationship  with  the  White  House. 
It  is  a  place  where  the  dining-room  is  always  open 
and  the  guest-chamber  always  ready ;  Bishop  Spalding 
stayed  there  last  year  during  the  whole  time  of  his 
investigations  into  the  great  coal  strike.  The  pastor 
of  St.  Patrick's  is  forty-four  years  old,  but  appears  to 
be  at  least  ten  years  younger.  Yet  God  knows  how 
hard  is  the  life  he  leads!  The  parish  contains  only 
five  thousand  souls,  and  at  the  time  of  my  visit  had 
two  curates,  the  first  of  whom,  a  man  of  intelligence 
and  zeal,  a  very  valuable  collaborator,  had  been  there 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  265 

for  a  long  time;  while  the  second  one,  also  very  well 
endowed,  had  only  lately  come  from  the  University. 
But  the  parish  works  are  numerous  and  important: 
two  parish  schools,  excellently  directed  by  the  Sisters 
of  the  Holy  Cross;  two  orphan  asylums,  one  for 
one  hundred  boys,  the  other  for  one  hundred  and 
fifty  girls ;  a  Society  of  Saint  Vincent  de  Paul  and  of 
Ladies  of  Charity  for  visiting  the  poor ;  a  society  for 
keeping  the  church  in  order  and  decorating  it;  a 
League  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  open  to  all;  a  Eucha- 
ristic  league,  for  solemnly  celebrating  the  Perpetual 
Adoration  on  the  second  Thursday  of  each  month; 
Sunday-schools  for  children  between  the  ages  of  seven 
and  seventeen;  a  club  for  men  and  boys,  Carroll  Insti 
tute,  which  counts  not  less  than  four  hundred  members, 
and  owns  a  building  worth  a  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
splendidly  equipped  with  library,  lecture-hall,  and  gym 
nasium,  as  well  as  a  choral  association  and  dramatic  club. 
Not  only  is  all  this  conducted  without  incurring  debt, 
but  a  round  sum  has  already  been  put  aside  for  a  project 
which  will  cost  a  quarter  of  a  million,  and  which  com 
prises  the  addition  of  a  tower  to  the  church  and  the 
building  of  a  new  rectory  and  school.  As  we  have  said, 
the  parish  counts  only  five  thousand  faithful ;  and  one 
can  well  imagine  that  all  this  supposes  generosity  in 
them,  and  also  much  confidence  in  their  priests.  Their 
devotion  is  reciprocated,  and  the  clergy  not  only  satisfy 
with  zeal  all  the  spiritual  needs  of  a  fervent  population, 
but  occupy  themselves  also,  whenever  they  are  asked  to 
do  so  (and  that  means  very  often),  with  their  temporal 
affairs.  There  is  no  sort  of  counsel,  of  encourage- 


266  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

ment,  of  active  aid,  for  which  they  are  not  called  upon ; 
and  I  believe  hardly  ever  does  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
pass  without  someone  calling  at  the  rectory.  For 
this  reason,  the  priests'  house  resembles  a  sort  of  moral 
agency,  where  telephone,  mail,  and  typewriter  are  per 
petually  in  evidence.  I  asked  myself  if  Dr.  Stafford 
and  his  curates  ever  rest.  Even  in  the  evening,  after 
dinner,  they  teach  the  Catechism  twice  a  week  to  Prot 
estants  who  wish  to  embrace  Catholicism,  and  there  is 
perhaps  no  work  more  laborious  than  this.  There  are 
always  some  neophytes  preparing  to  enter  the  Church, 
and  the  baptisms  of  adults  in  this  parish  alone  are  at 
the  average  rate  of  a  hundred  a  year.  At  the  last 
confirmation  service,  the  Sacrament  was  administered  to 
eighty-seven  converts,  of  whom  several  occupy  impor 
tant  positions  in  the  city. 

I  believe  that  the  American  priests  ignore  all  nor 
mal  demands  for  repose.  When  they  are  at  the  end 
of  their  strength,  they  go  away  for  a  long  journey, 
and  their  parishioners,  coming  to  bid  them  good-bye, 
force  them  to  accept,  or  even  slip  into  the  pockets  of 
their  overcoats,  without  saying  anything  to  them  about 
it,  little  notes  which  facilitate  a  good  use  of  their 
vacations. 

The  work  done  by  Dr.  Stafford  as  pastor  I  have 
no  reason  to  believe  exceptional,  having  seen  it  done 
in  several  other  parishes  in  the  large  cities.  But  that 
which  is  peculiarly  his  own,  and  which  accounts  for 
the  reputation  he  enjoys  widely  in  America,  is  his 
fine  talent  as  preacher  and  lecturer.  To  fill  the  church, 
it  is  necessary  only  to  let  it  be  known  that  he  will 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  267 

speak ;  and  when  he  is  invited  elsewhere,  there  are 
almost  always  people  standing,  even  to  the  doors.  His 
excellent  early  studies,  and  his  efforts  to  give  the  little 
spare  time  that  he  has  to  useful  reading,  insure  a  real 
solidity  to  his  sermons.  But  above  all,  he  has  a  bril 
liancy  of  style,  a  strength  and  beauty  of  voice,  and  a 
charm  of  manner,  which  no  audience  can  resist  in 
a  country  where  eloquence  accomplishes  whatever  it 
aspires  to. 

The  great  success  of  Dr.  Stafford  is  in  lecturing. 
There  are  subjects  which  he  treats  almost  every  year, 
and  sometimes  repeats  before  the  same  public:  the 
American  citizen;  Dickens;  the  struggle  of  Ireland 
for  life  and  liberty;  eloquence  in  Shakespeare;  Richard 
III;  Macbeth;  Julius  Caesar;  Hamlet.  These  last 
subjects  are  the  ones  for  which  he  is  most  often  asked. 
A  Washington  newspaper  has  recently  described  him 
as  having,  for  the  benefit  of  some  charitable  work, 
expounded  a  tragedy  of  Shakespeare  at  a  leading 
theatre  before  an  audience  including  Mgr.  Falconio, 
the  apostolic  delegate;  Mgr.  O'Connell,  Rector  of  the 
Catholic  University;  the  French  Ambassador  and 
Mme.  Jusserand,  almost  the  whole  Diplomatic  Corps, 
ministers,  admirals,  and  members  of  Congress;  and 
together  with  these  Mme.  Bonaparte  and  the  elite  of 
fashionable  society.  The  lecturer  insists,  very  properly, 
on  the  art  of  the  great  dramatist.  He  sums  up  with 
fire  the  march  of  events,  and  recites  the  most  pathetic 
passages;  but  he  never  forgets  to  bring  into  due  promi 
nence  the  moral  and  religious  teachings  of  the  play. 
If  he  has  chosen  Shakespeare  as  the  nominal  theme 


268  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

of  his  eloquence,  it  is  for  the  reason  that  perhaps  in 
no  other  writer  can  be  found  such  moving  examples 
of  the  struggle  against  evil,  or  such  terrible  lessons  of 
divine  justice.  It  is  undoubtedly  from  this  cause  that 
these  lectures,  far  from  injuring  the  sacerdotal  prestige 
of  Dr.  Stafford,  have  on  the  contrary  only  succeeded 
in  augmenting  the  respect  and  influence  which  he 
enjoys  with  all,  as  I  have  several  times  had  proved 
to  me.  From  the  White  House  to  the  most  distin 
guished  salons  or  the  most  humble  institutions,  there 
does  not  exist  in  Washington  a  threshold  over  which 
one  cannot  enter  as  a  friend,  if  only  accompanied  by 
the  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's. 

I  shall  not  go  into  the  details  of  all  the  acquaint 
ances  that  I  had  the  opportunity  of  making  during  the 
three  weeks  I  spent  in  Washington.  It  would  give 
me  pleasure  to  tell  of  some  of  our  evening  visits  to  Dr. 
Stafford's  parishioners  and  personal  friends.  I  remem 
ber  especially  the  smiling  and  interesting  face  of  an  old 
admiral,  retired  from  service,  who  loved  to  talk  to  us,  in 
his  drawing-room  or  at  his  table,  about  his  sojourns  in 
Europe,  his  visit  to  the  court  of  Napoleon  III,  his 
Pacific  cruises,  and  his  youthful  journeys  in  the  United 
States  at  a  time,  as  he  said,  when  the  frontiers  of  the 
present  East — Cincinnati,  for  instance  —  represented 
the  "Far  West."  Although  he  had  remained  a 
Protestant  himself,  he  had  not  been  sorry  to  see  his 
children  become  Catholics,  and  was  unceasing  in  his 
praises  of  the  name  of  Bishop  Spalding  —  my  talisman 
for  being  everywhere  well  received. 


MGR.   FALCONIO 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  269 

One  of  my  most  agreeable  recollections  is  of  a 
marriage  ceremony  which  was  celebrated  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  city,  in  a  charming  suburban 
villa.  The  bride  had  relatives  in  France,  the  d'Oyleys, 
who  were  friends  of  mine,  and  the  benediction  was 
given  by  Dr.  Stafford,  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
the  family. 

On  this  occasion  we  exchange  the  electric  car  for 
the  open  landau,  and  if  the  journey  is  a  little  long  I 
do  not  feel  like  complaining  of  it,  for  the  avenues 
which  connect  the  city  with  the  park  are  charming, 
and  the  park  itself  offers  fine  perspectives.  The 
house,  in  the  open  country,  is  simple  and  in  good 
taste,  yet  noticeable  for  a  terrace  with  Ionic  columns  of 
dazzling  whiteness.  A  number  of  well-trained  negro 
servants  attend  the  invited  guests,  receiving  them 
as  they  leave  their  carriages,  removing  their  wraps,  and 
conducting  them  to  the  room  in  which  the  ceremony 
is  to  take  place.  The  elegance  of  the  toilettes  and  the 
presence  of  colored  servants  make  me  recall,  although 
without  much  regret,  the  time  when  the  rich  planters 
were  served  by  slaves. 

It  is  a  mixed  marriage,  the  young  woman  being  a 
Catholic  and  the  young  man  a  Protestant,  and  many 
of  the  ladies  to  whom  I  am  presented  have  also 
Protestant  husbands.  They  all  seem  ready  to  con 
gratulate  themselves  on  the  religious  liberty  that  their 
husbands  allow  them,  and  they  have  brought  their 
children  up  as  Catholics.  The  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  forbade  mixed  marriages  to  be  blessed  in  the 
churches,  and  so  they  must  take  place  in  residences. 


270  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Cardinal  Gibbons,  it  is  said,  would  willingly  see  the 
Church  in  America  relax  a  little  of  its  severity  on  this 
point,  partly  out  of  respect  for  the  Sacrament,  and 
partly  also  to  avoid  what  may  give  annoyance  to  the 
Catholic  party  and  an  occasion  for  ill-feeling  to  the 
Protestant  one.  But  so  far  he  has  not  been  able  to 
convince  the  majority  of  the  Bishops,  whose  attention 
is  principally  turned  to  the  danger  —  a  very  real  one, 
it  must  be  acknowledged  —  of  diminishing  the  force 
of  convictions  and  the  spirit  of  faith.  It  is  for  the 
priests,  according  to  circumstances,  discreetly  to  tem 
per  the  rigor  of  the  law.  To-day  everything  passes 
off  with  perfect  smoothness.  Skilful  arrangements  of 
plants  and  greenery  have  transformed  the  central 
drawing-room  into  a  sort  of  chapel.  A  dome  of 
flowers  marks  the  place  of  the  priest  and  of  the  couple 
to  be  married.  Dr.  Stafford  stands  between  the  rector 
of  the  parish  and  myself, —  all  three  acting  as  clergy 
men, —  and  welcomes  the  young  couple,  who  advance 
between  two  rows  of  ribbon  held  by  the  ushers  and 
the  maids  of  honor.  The  bride  is  well  known  for  her 
beauty.  At  the  Convents  of  the  Visitation  in  George 
town  and  of  the  Assumption  in  Paris  she  has  acquired 
the  dignity  of  a  queen,  or  rather  she  seems  to  possess 
it  by  nature.  As  she  passes  before  us,  it  is  she  whom 
everyone  admires,  and  not  the  superb  collar  of  dia 
monds  which  she  has  received  from  her  betrothed,  a 
California  millionaire.  The  priest  makes  them  a  touch 
ing  address  on  the  greatness,  the  joys,  and  the  duties 
of  their  new  life.  He  then  puts  the  questions  of  the 
ritual,  which  are  solemn  and  impressive,  but  too  short 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  271 

to  constitute  a  real  ceremony,  so  he  adds  a  few  more 
words  of  exhortation,  and  finally  asks  the  newly 
married  ones,  as  well  as  all  present,  to  recite  "Our 
Father  "  with  him  aloud.  At  the  end,  he  asks  them 
to  kneel  on  the  two  prie-dieu  and  gives  them — who 
would  object?  —  his  personal  benediction.  During  the 
interchange  of  compliments  and  the  lunch  which  fol 
lows,  these  rooms,  filled  with  flowers,  with  young  girls, 
with  groups  of  sympathetic  friends,  form  a  charming 
picture.  And  yet  a  sort  of  sadness  hanging  over  all 
reminds  us  of  the  coming  separation.  The  Pacific 
Ocean  has  beautiful  shores,  indeed,  but  at  what  a  dis 
tance  from  Washington! 

Before  leaving,  Dr.  Stafford  hands  the  married 
couple  a  certificate  of  marriage;  he  will  send  another 
to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  District,  and  that  will 
legalize  the  marriage.  Every  minister  of  religion  is 
at  the  same  time  a  state  official  for  marriages.  He  has 
only  to  provide  himself  with  a  permit,  never  refused 
without  good  reason,  which  reads  as  follows:  "The 

Reverend  .....  of  the  Church ,  having  proved 

to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Court  that  he  is  duly  appointed 
or  ordained  as  such,  and  that  he  is  in  regular  com 
munion  with  the  religious  society  to  which  he  belongs, 
is  by  these  presents  authorized  to  perform  the  cere 
mony  of  marriage  in  the  District  of  Columbia."  The 
details  of  legislation  vary  in  the  different  States.  Here, 
for  example,  engaged  persons  have  to  obtain  from  the 
court  a  "marriage  license,"  and  to  send  it  to  the  reli 
gious  minister,  who  must  return  it,  with  his  endorse 
ment,  to  the  recording  bureau  within  ten  days  after  the 


272  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

celebration  of  the  marriage.  In  Maryland,  on  the 
contrary,  this  license  is  not  required,  and  the  triple 
publication  of  the  banns  is  regarded  as  a  sufficient 
notification.  But  nowhere  in  the  United  States  is  it 
considered  necessary  to  require,  as  in  France,  a  civil 
ceremony  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  already  gone 
through  the  religious  ceremony.  Those  who  do  not 
care  for  any  religious  rite  may,  of  course,  register  their 
contract  validly  before  a  civil  magistrate. 

One  of  my  first  visits  while  in  Washington  was  to 
the  Catholic  University.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meet 
ing  there  a  number  of  the  professors  whom  I  had 
already  seen  in  Europe;  not  the  Rector,  Mgr.  O'Con- 
nell,  who  was  detained  in  Rome  by  business,  but  the 
Vice-Rector,  Dr.  Grannan ;  the  Abbe  Hyvernat,  a 
Lyonnais,  greatly  appreciated  for  his  Oriental  knowl 
edge  and  his  courtesy ;  the  Abbe  Gigot,  an  old  friend 
of  my  seminary  days  in  Saint  Sulpice,  now  professor 
of  Exegesis  at  the  Seminary  in  Baltimore,  as  well  as  at 
Saint  Austin's,  the  Sulpician  College  in  Washington. 
I  became  particularly  well  acquainted  with  Dr.  Shahari, 
the  very  brilliant  professor  of  Church  History,  and 
with  Dr.  Maurice  Francis  Egan,  the  professor  of 
English  Literature,  for  whom  Mr.  Roosevelt  had 
charged  me  with  his  compliments. 

The  reopening  had  just  taken  place,  but  there 
were  as  yet  only  a  few  students,  and  the  university 
life  had  hardly  begun.  For  that  reason,  no  doubt, 
my  attention  was  attracted  chiefly  to  the  beauty  of  the 
buildings  and  grounds.  A  material  comparison  of 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  273 

the  Washington  University  with  the  old  buildings  and 
narrow  courtyards  of  our  Catholic  Institute  of  Paris 
might  not  flatter  my  self-love  very  much;  but  I  do 
not  know,  if,  on  the  whole,  our  American  brothers 
would  not  willingly  yield  their  splendid  buildings  in 
exchange  for  our  larger  number  of  students.  We 
must  hope  that  time  will  give  greater  resources  to 
us  and  more  pupils  to  them.  Organized  on  the  Euro 
pean  plan,  —  shall  I  say,  rather  too  much  so?  —  the 
University,  unlike  other  American  universities,  lacks 
a  preparatory  college  from  which  to  recruit  its  body  of 
boy-students ;  and  as  for  the  clergy  of  the  country, 
they  are  too  busy  in  the  perpetual  creation  of  new 
parishes  to  give  themselves  in  any  great  number  to 
serious  study.  The  letter  which  the  Rector  had  just 
received  from  Rome,  recommending  the  work  to  the 
Episcopate  and  the  whole  Church  in  America,  would, 
it  was  hoped,  mark  the  point  of  departure  for  a  new 
era  of  prosperity. 

Although  the  Catholic  University  is  outside  of 
Washington  proper,  in  the  suburb  of  Brookland,  the 
trolley  service  is  so  good  that  I  was  able  to  visit  the 
establishment  several  times.  It  is  already  quite  a  city. 
Around  the  administrative  and  academic  halls  rise 
affiliated  houses  in  which  the  religious  orders  have 
gathered  novices  and  scholastics  who  can  profit  by  the 
university  courses :  the  College  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Holy  Cross  and  that  of  the  Marists,  the  College  of 
the  Holy  Land  belonging  to  the  Franciscans,  St.  Aus 
tin  College  under  the  Sulpicians,  and  the  College  of 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas  of  the  Paulist  Fathers ;  this 


274  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

last  congregation  —  whose  novitiate  includes  twenty- 
seven  novices,  under  the  very  competent  and  intelli 
gent  direction  of  Father  McSorley — is  also  much 
interested  in  the  neighboring  Apostolic  Mission  House, 
an  institution  of  so  important  a  character  that  it  must 
be  spoken  of  in  some  detail. 

Statistics  relating  to  the  non-Catholic  missionary 
movement  show  that  in  1898  there  were  64  converts 
for  four  missions  among  non-Catholics;  in  1899,  212 
for  five;  in  1900,  255  for  five;  in  1901,390  for  nine, 
making  an  average  of  forty  for  each  of  these  missions. 
This  result  was  so  encouraging  that  it  was  resolved  to 
do  everything  possible  to  extend  it.  In  November, 
1901,  the  Archbishops  approved  and  promised  to  aid 
in  every  way  the  project  of  having  an  institution  in 
which  priests  should  be  especially  trained  to  give  in 
their  own  dioceses  missions  to  non-Catholics. 

The  Catholic  Missionary  Union  —  founded  by 
the  Archbishops  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  in 
conjunction  with  the  Paulist  Fathers,  Father  Dyer  the 
Sulpician,  and  some  priests  —  was  charged  with  the 
work,  and  confided  the  direction  of  it  to  Father  Elliott. 
Father  Doyle  was  asked  to  collect  the  sum  of  $250,000, 
which  was  judged  necessary  to  meet  the  expenses.  I 
do  not  know  how  many  months  it  was  necessary  to 
wait  before  laying  the  corner-stone  ;  but  in  the  Autumn 
of  1903  I  saw  the  edifice  nearly  finished,  and  on  the 
1 4th  of  April,  1904,  it  was  consecrated  by  Cardinal 
Gibbons,  in  the  presence  of  Archbishops  Ireland, 
Keane,  Messmer,  Elder,  Ryan,  Williams,  Glennon, 
and  many  other  prelates.  On  that  occasion,  Mgr. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  275 

O'Connell  set  forth  the  advantages  which  the  new 
work  and  the  University  could  derive  from  each 
other.  Father  Doyle  then  reminded  his  hearers  of 
the  fact  that  the  institution  does  not  belong  to  the 
Paulists,  but  to  the  whole  Church  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  the  Episcopate  which  keeps  the  con 
trol  of  the  Mission  House  proposes  to  prepare  five  or 
six  secular  priests  in  each  diocese  for  the  work  of  conver 
sion  among  non-Catholics,  —  a  ministry  sufficiently 
different  from  the  ordinary  parish  work  as  to  need 
special  vocation,  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  con 
troversial  points,  and  the  ability  to  give  ready  and 
accurate  answers  to  the  most  common  objections.  The 
young  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  who  gave  the  princi 
pal  discourse,  spoke  "in  his  usual  felicitous  vein"  of 
the  static  force  or  principle  of  conservation,  and  of  the 
dynamic  force  or  principle  of  expansion,  which  are 
equally  essential  to  the  life  of  the  Church.  The  Apos 
tolic  Mission  House  he  considered  as  the  highest 
development  of  the  dynamic  force  of  the  Church.  It 
is  the  fullest  exemplification  of  the  commission  that  was 
given  to  the  Apostles,  "  Go  ye  into  the  whole  world 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 

"Go,"  said  the  Archbishop,  "and  while  going,  teach.  Be 
filled  with  a  restless  activity  to  make  the  truth  for  which  Christ 
lived  and  died  better  known  to  men.  There  comes  in  the  his 
tory  of  every  people  a  peculiar  psychological  moment  when  the 
opportunities  are  ripe  for  the  highest  advancement.  If  they  are 
taken,  they  will  lead  to  success.  If  they  are  allowed  to  slip  by, 
degeneration  and  disintegration  will  set  in.  Such  a  moment  seems 
to  have  arrived  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  this  country.  The 
conversion  of  America  to  the  Catholic  Church  may  seem  to  many 


276  IN   THE   LAND   OF 

something  of  a  dream.  Still,  it  is  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be 
hoped  for,  and  if  it  be  attained  only  in  a  small  degree  it  will  have  a 
profound  influence  in  the  history  of  the  modern  world.  There  are 
many  signs  of  the  dawning  of  a  brighter  day." 

To  judge  by  this  language,  it  would  seem  that  the 
new  Episcopate  of  the  United  States,  of  which  Arch 
bishop  Glennon  might  be  called  the  most  remarkable 
personification,  is  declaring  itself  no  less  optimistic  or 
courageous  than  the  generation,  now  so  celebrated, 
of  Gibbons,  Ireland,  Ryan,  Mac  Quaid,  Riordan, 
Keane,  and  Spalding. 

But  of  all  the  establishments  connected  with  the 
Catholic  University  of  Washington,  the  most  original 
and  the  most  interesting  is  undoubtedly  Trinity  Col 
lege.  I  do  not  believe  that  Catholics  possess  elsewhere, 
either  in  Europe  or  America,  a  better  institution  for 
the  higher  education  of  women.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  in  the  United  States  the  instruction  of  young 
women  is  on  an  equality  with  that  of  young  men.  It 
can  even  be  said  that  the  American  woman,  well  trained 
by  solid  studies,  with  plenty  of  leisure,  eager  for  read 
ing  and  information,  is  ordinarily  ahead  of  her  husband 
in  artistic,  literary,  and  sometimes  even  in  scientific 
culture.  I  am  simply  stating  a  fact  now,  and  not  dis 
cussing  the  question  whether  this  is  an  advantage  or 
not;  although,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  for  one  should  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  if  the  father  and  mother  cannot 
both  be  well  educated,  it  is  better  for  the  training  of 
the  children,  and  for  the  maintaining  of  public  ideals, 
that  at  least  one  parent  should  be  so. 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  277 

In  any  case,  Catholics  have  not  wasted  their  time 
on  this  point,  any  more  than  on  any  other,  by  discuss 
ing  the  theory  involved.  They  have  accepted  the  fact, 
and  have  adapted  themselves  to  it.  I  have  met  in 
many  places, —  at  Notre  Dame  du  Lac,  at  St.  Louis, 
and  at  Notre  Dame  in  Maryland,  near  Baltimore,— 
excellent  Catholic  colleges  for  young  girls,  in  which 
nuns  of  the  first  rank  teach  Latin,  Greek,  and  the 
higher  mathematics,  without  for  a  moment  looking  on 
this  as  a  foolish  effort,  but  on  the  contrary  regarding 
it  as  performing  a  great  duty  for  the  glory  of  the 
Church  and  the  good  of  the  country.  But  nowhere 
have  I  seen  this  mission  better  understood  or  more 
thoroughly  accomplished  than  in  Trinity  College. 

Trinity  College  has  not  existed  long.  It  was  in 
January,  1899,  that  Bishop  Spalding  announced  its 
approaching  foundation,  in  his  famous  discourse  on 
the  superior  education  of  women.  In  October,  1903, 
there  were  seventy-seven  students,  of  whom  sixty- 
seven  were  boarders,  and  the  limit  was  not  yet  attained. 
We  can  appreciate  the  value  of  this  figure,  reached  in 
three  years,  if  we  consider  that  the  average  age  of  these 
young  girls  is  from  eighteen  to  twenty-two  years,  and 
that  they  cannot  be  admitted  until,  beside  having 
attended  the  grammar  schools,  they  have  passed  at 
least  four  years  at  the  high  school.  Of  the  number 
mentioned,  sixteen  were  already  graduates ;  the  greater 
number  were  undergraduates  preparing  for  the  bacca 
laureate.  The  special  students,  or  "  auditors,"  do  not 
try  for  diplomas,  but  are  required  to  give,  the  first  a 
minimum  of  sixteen  hours,  the  second  a  minimum  of 


278  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

twelve  hours,  to  class-work  every  week.  All  must 
prove  before  their  entrance,  and  twice  during  the 
scholastic  year,  that  they  are  capable  of  profiting  by 
the  general  instruction.  The  entrance  examinations, 
which  can  be  taken  in  several  of  the  large  cities  of  the 
United  States,  comprise,  in  Latin,  Caesar,  Cicero,  Virgil ; 
in  Greek,  Xenophon,  Homer,  and  St.  John  Chrysos- 
tom ;  in  English,  Addison,  Carlyle,  Newman,  Tenny 
son,  and  a  written  composition ;  in  German,  Schiller 
and  Lessing ;  in  French,  a  certain  knowledge  of  literary 
history  and  the  ability  to  translate  at  sight  ordinary 
bits  of  prose  and  poetry.  Three  of  these  languages 
are  required,  and  one  can  be  replaced  by  physics, 
chemistry,  or  botany.  Algebra  and  the  five  first  books 
of  geometry  are  obligatory,  as  well  as  the  histories  of 
Greece,  Rome,  England,  and  the  United  States. 

Such  a  beginning  gives  an  idea  of  the  studies  that 
follow.  It  is  unnecessary  to  reproduce  the  programme 
which  I  have  under  my  eyes,  and  which  was  actually 
followed  last  year ;  but  I  do  not  exaggerate  when  I  say 
that  the  higher  courses  are  equivalent  to  those  of  the 
ordinary  curriculum  of  our  French  faculties  for  stu 
dents  preparing  for  licentiates  in  letters  and  sciences. 
We  find,  for  example,  in  the  Greek  programme,  Plato, 
Aristotle,  Pindar,  Theocritus,  and  the  three  tragic 
writers ;  in  Latin,  Pliny,  Tacitus,  Suetonius,  Lucretius, 
and  extracts  from  the  Comedies.  The  physical  and 
natural  sciences  are  thoroughly  taught,  with  the  help 
of  laboratories  and  collections  which  leave  nothing  to 
be  desired.  In  the  programme  of  mathematical  studies, 
I  find  trigonometry,  analytical  geometry,  differential 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  279 

and  integral  calculus,  the  theory  of  equations  and 
determinants.  Of  religion  and  art  I  need  report  noth 
ing,  for  it  will  be  well  understood  that  in  such  an  insti 
tution  as  this  these  subjects  hold  a  privileged  place. 

I  can  see  the  astonishment  of  some  of  my  readers, 
and  their  laughable  dread  of  being  married  to  women 
such  as  these.  Let  them  be  reassured.  Young  girls 
brought  up  in  this  way  marry  only  the  men  who  please 
them.  They  are  quite  capable,  if  need  be,  of  going 
through  life  alone.  If  they  are  rich,  they  find  many 
interesting  ways  of  employing  their  wealth ;  if  not,  they 
earn  their  own  living.  Many  are  preparing  to  teach 
in  the  grammar  schools  an'd  the  high  schools.  The 
Mother  Superior,  who  comes  from  Boston,  told  me 
that  when  she  was  a  child  there  was  not  a  single  Cath 
olic  teacher  in  the  schools  of  that  city ;  whereas  to-day 
from  one-half  to  two-thirds  of  them  are  Catholics. 
But  even  for  those  who  remain  outside  of  teaching,  I 
do  not  think  that  an  advanced  education  will  prove 
useless.  A  femme  savante  —  with  all  due  respect  to 
that  great  railer  Moliere — has  at  least  as  much  chance 
as  an  ignorant  woman  of  becoming  an  agreeable  com 
panion  and  a  good  mother. 

The  young  girls  that  I  met  at  Trinity  College  were 
far  from  having  a  forbidding  or  pretentious  air.  Half 
of  them  were  engaged  in  a  singing-class  when  our  visit 
interrupted  them.  They  gathered  around  me  as  I  was 
presented,  and  an  animated  conversation  followed.  One 
of  them  wore  the  university  dress,  or  rather  the  gown 
so  well  known  in  Oxford.  The  cap  was  wanting,  but 
at  my  request  she  went  to  get  it ;  and  this  costume, 


280  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

worn  without  affectation,  took  nothing  away  from  her 
natural  grace.  Together  with  the  Mother  Superior, 
we  visited  the  libraries,  class-rooms,  and  several  stu 
dents'  rooms,  each  one  composed  of  two  compart 
ments,  comfortably  furnished  by  the  college  and 
decorated  by  the  occupant  with  portraits,  flowers,  and 
hangings,  which  gave  them  the  look  of  homes  of  good 
taste  and  elegance.  In  one  of  these  apartments  we 
found  three  young  girls  taking  tea ;  at  their  invitation 
I  willingly  accepted  a  cup,  and  the  conversation  that 
followed  enabled  me  to  observe  more  closely  the  exqui 
site  blending  of  seriousness  and  gaiety  which  had  struck 
me  at  the  first  as  characteristic  of  this  fine  college. 
The  young  girl  worthy  the  name  is  the  most  delicate 
work  of  the  Creator.  Brought  up  as  she  is  in  a  Chris 
tian  country,  she  is  a  queen  of  grace  and  dignity ;  and 
ennobled  still  more  by  the  pious  influences  of  Catholi 
cism,  she  may  even  become  angelic.  When  without 
detriment  to  these  gifts  she  joins  those  of  knowledge  and 
intelligence,  and  thus  thoroughly  equipped  appears,  as 
at  Trinity,  in  groups,  working,  laughing,  praying,  and 
singing,  amid  the  most  appropriate  setting  of  artistic 
buildings,  of  gardens  filled  with  flowers,  of  green  fields 
and  shady  walks,  she  leaves  an  impression  of  poetry, 
of  charm,  of  dignity,  which  approaches  very  near  to 
the  ideal. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  Catholics  have  not  a 
monopoly  of  the  free  universities.  In  this  respect 
they  are  rather  behind  the  other  religions,  although 
in  the  development  of  grammar  schools  they  surpass 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  281 

them  very  much,  and  in  certain  respects  it  pleased  us 
to  see  our  co-religionists  preoccupied  before  everything 
else  with  popular  instruction.  The  higher  education 
is  often  neutral,  in  the  very  acceptable  sense  which 
this  idea  conveys  in  America ;  but  often  also  it  is  con 
nected  more  or  less  closely  with  some  religious  denom 
ination.  At  the  Cosmos  Club,  where  I  was  presented 
by  Dr.  Egan,  I  met  a  very  agreeable  clergyman,  the 
Professor  of  Philosophy  at  the  Columbian  University, 
who  offered  to  show  me  this  establishment.  Colum 
bian  University1  is  one  of  the  oldest  institutions  in 
Washington,  since  it  dates  back  to  1821  ;  and  one  of 
the  most  prosperous,  since  with  165  professors  it  counts, 
graduates  and  all,  1,298  students,  a  quarter  of  whom 
come  from  the  city  itself,  and  the  rest  from  different 
parts  of  America  or  from  foreign  countries.  Evidently 
it  profits  by  the  advantages  which  the  Capital  offers 
for  scientific  research, —  Congress,  by  a  resolution 
passed  on  April  12,  1892,  having  given  students 
access  to  all  the  museums,  archives,  and  libraries. 

Columbian  University  was  founded  by  the  sect  of 
Baptists,  and  remains  attached  to  them,  at  least  nomi 
nally,  in  the  statistical  returns ;  but  it  shows  no  trace 
of  doctrinal  solicitude,  in  all  that  I  have  been  able  to 
see  while  attending  the  classes,  visiting  the  hospital,  or 
reading  the  catalogue.  This  compilation  tells  us  that 
work  begins  every  day  at  nine  o'clock,  by  a  prayer 
in  the  chapel,  but  this  is  common  to  all  or  nearly  all 
the  institutions  of  learning;  and  although  one  finds  a 

1  The  name  of  Columbian  University  has  since  been  changed  to  George  Washing 
ton  University.  —  [PuBRS.] 


282  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

complete  enumeration  of  the  courses  of  letters  and 
sciences,  medicine  and  dentistry,  law,  jurisprudence, 
and  diplomacy,  there  is  not  a  single  mention  of 
theology.  One  is  tempted  to  ask,  In  what  respect, 
then,  is  it  Baptist  ? 

At  the  Cosmos  Club  again,  while  talking  familiarly 
over  a  cigar,  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  William 
Carlton  Fox,  director  of  the  International  Bureau  of 
American  Republics.  His  explanations,  and  a  number 
of  books  which  he  sent  me  later,  made  me  conversant 
with  this  institution. 

In  1889  and  1890,  a  congress  of  different  nations 
of  both  North  and  South  America  was  held  at  Wash 
ington,  and  in  1901  another  in  Mexico,  in  order  to 
recommend  arbitration  to  the  governments  concerned, 
and  to  promote  commercial  relations  between  them. 
All  countries  profit  by  knowing  one  another  better. 
Social  and  economic  conditions,  laws,  customs,  and 
needs,  natural  resources  and  manufactured  products, 
statistics,  custom-house  rights,  port  regulations,  means 
of  transportation,  ways  of  communication, —  informa 
tion  on  all  these  matters  it  is  important  to  make 
known  generally,  if  every  sort  of  interchange  is  to 
be  multiplied  in  the  common  interest. 

This  is  the  purpose  which  the  International  Bureau 
has  pursued  since  August,  1890,  —  to  the  greatest 
advantage  undoubtedly,  as  always  happens,  of  those 
who  are  the  most  capable,  but  to  the  real  advantage 
of  all  those  who  wish  to  profit  by  it.  The  impartiality 
of  the  Bureau  cannot  be  doubted,  since  it  has  at  its 
head  a  permanent  executive  committee  of  five  mem- 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  283 

bers,  presided  over  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  of 
the  United  States,  the  four  other  members  being  taken 
by  turns  from  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  the 
different  peoples  included  in  the  association. 

It  is  impossible  to  see  in  what  way  this  Bureau 
could  injure  the  independence  of  the  feeblest  States, 
since  it  represents  nothing  more  than  an  admirable 
agency  of  commercial  information,  and  since  its  prin 
cipal  activity  is  the  publication  in  different  languages 
of  books,  charts,  and  monthly  bulletins.  I  have  before 
me  the  bulletin  of  September,  1903,  which  had  just 
appeared  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  In  one  section, 
which  seldom  varies,  it  gives  the  list  of  corre 
spondents;  the  diplomatic  and  consular  agents  of  the 
Latin- American  Republics  to  the  United  States; 
the  postal  regulations  and  principal  means  of  trans 
portation  ;  the  tables  of  weights,  measures,  and  money ; 
finally,  the  list  of  publications  of  the  Bureau.  In  a 
second  part,  which  contains  no  less  than  256  pages, 
are  found  in  almost  equal  proportions  papers  in  Span 
ish,  English,  Portuguese,  and  French.  The  subjects 
treated  in  the  different  languages  are  not  the  same. 
To  give  a  better  idea,  I  will  name  some  of  the  subjects 
dealt  with  in  French:  the  Argentine  Republic,  sheep- 
raising,  sugar  industry,  commercial  statistics  for  the  first 
quarter  of  the  year  1903  ;  Brazil,  exportations  in  1902, 
movement  of  coffee  in  1902—3,  coffee  alcohol,  exporta 
tion  of  India-rubber  from  the  State  of  Amazonas; 
Chili,  budget  of  expenses  for  1904,  customs  receipts 
in  April  and  May,  tariff  conditions,  industrial  develop 
ments  ;  Colombia,  emerald  mines,  traffic  over  the  Isth- 


284  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

mus  in  1901-2;  Cuba,  general  conditions,  budget  for 
the  fiscal  year,  shoe  trade ;  United  States,  commerce 
with  Latin  America.  These  are  followed  by  corre 
sponding  reports  of  Honduras,  Mexico,  Nicaragua, 
Uruguay,  and  Venezuela. 

Beside  this  periodical  bulletin,  exhaustive  works 
are  published  for  each  country  by  means  of  the  Bureau. 
I  did  not  —  happily  for  my  baggage  —  attempt  to 
bring  back  the  whole  collection ;  but  I  have  lists,  more 
than  a  hundred  pages  long,  of  books  and  articles  on 
Brazil,  Chili,  and  Central  America ;  a  monograph  on 
Venezuela  in  English,  and  another  in  Spanish ;  a 
volume  of  187  pages  on  Paraguay;  one  of  233  pages 
on  Brazil;  one  of  376  on  the  Argentine  Republic; 
and  one  of  383  on  Mexico.  All  of  these  works,  be 
it  noted,  are  accompanied  with  charts  and  engravings. 

Were  it  only  for  the  sake  of  our  travellers  and 
merchants,  some  of  whom  may  chance  to  be  ignorant 
of  its  existence,  I  shall  not  regret  having  spoken  of 
this  International  Bureau  and  its  work.  We  have  met, 
in  the  course  of  our  travels,  institutions  which  were 
more  interesting  to  describe;  we  have  found  hardly  any 
which  it  seems  more  useful  to  know.  Perhaps,  also, 
one  might  with  due  prudence  and  reserve  formulate  a 
conclusion  about  its  significance;  for  despite  rivalries, 
which  are  often  very  violent,  I  believe  that  there  exists, 
or  that  there  is  beginning  to  be  formed,  as  if  by 
antithesis  to  other  quarters  of  the  world,  a  sort  of  Pan- 
American  soul,  or  at  least  a  collective  conscience  built 
out  of  the  special  interests  and  the  closer  relations 
which  unite  the  peoples  of  the  New  World. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  285 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    EDUCATION    OF   WHITES    AND 
BLACKS 

At  the  Bureau  of  Education.  —  Organization  of  Education  in  the 
United  States.  —  Extraordinary  Development  of  the  Higher 
Education.  —  Statistics  of  Some  of  the  Liberal  Professions.  — 
A  High  School  for  Negroes.  —  The  "  Mneid"  Explained  by  a 
Colored  Woman.  —  The  Negro  Question.  —  An  Unsolvable 
Problem.  —  The  Best  Education.  —  The  Ideas  of  Booker  T. 
Washington. 


r^HE  most  instructive  hours  of  my  sojourn  in 
Washington  were  perhaps  those  which  I  spent 
at  the  General  Bureau  of  Education,  the  Chief  of 
which,  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris,  upon  my  presenting  a  letter 
from  Bishop  Spalding,  kindly  consented  to  grant  me 
several  interviews  and  to  place  at  my  service  the  docu 
ments  of  his  department.  Such  a  source  of  informa 
tion  would  in  itself  have  merited  several  months  of 
study.  In  the  little  time  at  my  disposal,  I  tried  to 
arrive  at  a  better  understanding  of  the  rather  compli 
cated  system,  of  the  different  kinds  of  instruction,  and 
by  means  of  authentic  figures  to  obtain  a  more  exact 
notion  of  something  which  had  impressed  me,  in  com 
mon  with  all  other  visitors  to  the  United  States, 
namely,  the  extraordinary  enthusiasm  of  all  classes  of 
people  toward  whatever  bears  upon  education. 

The   original  organization  of  studies  in  America 
consisted  only  of  "grammar  schools"  similar  to  our 


286  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

holes primaires,  and  of  "colleges"  corresponding  to  our 
enseignement  secondaire,  in  which  pupils  never  remain 
beyond  their  nineteenth  year.  Little  by  little,  the 
richest  and  the  most  advanced  colleges  added  to  their 
programme  several  higher  courses,  with  a  view  to  the 
needs  of  graduate  students,  that  is  to  say,  "  bachelors." 
These  courses,  in  broadening  out  as  they  have  done, 
especially  within  the  last  thirty  years,  have  become  really 
university  courses,  in  the  European  sense;  but  they 
do  not  involve  the  suppression  of  the  college.  Even 
to-day,  in  almost  all  the  universities  the  majority  of 
the  registered  students  are  undergraduates. 

Harvard  and  Yale  were  the  first  to  follow  this 
process  of  evolution  from  the  college  to  the  university. 
More  recent  universities,  like  the  Johns  Hopkins  at 
Baltimore  and  Clark  at  Worcester,  have  reached  the 
same  end  by  a  different  path ;  founded  especially  for 
post-graduate  students,  they  too  have  been  obliged  to 
receive  undergraduates.  The  change  of  plan  was 
almost  an  absolute  necessity  for  their  continuance; 
pupils  destined  for  higher  studies  enter  at  an  early  age 
those  institutions  in  which  they  can  find  the  complete 
course,  and  there  they  stay.  Post-graduate  courses 
can  be  maintained  only  in  those  institutions  that  have 
undergraduate  departments.  The  Catholic  University 
of  Washington  is  perhaps  the  only  one  which  has  thus 
far  resisted  the  pressure  of  this  necessity;  and  even 
that  may  be  obliged  to  surrender  at  last.  We  may  say, 
then,  that,  thanks  to  the  absolute  liberty  of  instruction 
and  to  the  facility  with  which  the  right  to  confer  de 
grees  is  obtained,  the  most  prosperous  colleges  add 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  287 

higher  courses  to  their  programmes  as  soon  as  they 
possess  the  means,  and  thus  transform  themselves  quite 
naturally  into  universities. 

But  as  the  colleges  broaden  out  into  universities, 
they  have  usually  felt  themselves  compelled  to  make 
their  entrance  examinations  more  difficult,  and  while 
raising  their  standard  of  graduation  at  the  same  time  to 
raise  the  requirements  of  admission.  To-day  the  stu 
dent  rarely  enters  before  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  he 
spends  at  least  four  years  as  an  undergraduate,  the  last 
year  being  devoted  in  part  to  attending  higher  courses 
of  lectures.  University  work  proper,  which  is  such  as 
pursued  by  the  graduate  students,  lasts  three  or  four 
years  after  that. 

Admission  to  the  college  having  become  more 
difficult  and  the  age  of  the  student  more  advanced,  it 
follows  that  he  can  no  longer  enter  college  upon  leav 
ing  the  grammar  school,  or  hole  primaire,  which  dis 
charges  its  pupils  at  about  the  fourteenth  year.  This 
naturally  gives  rise  to  the  necessity  for  an  intermediate 
school,  the  high  school,  where  the  pupil  remains  from 
about  the  fourteenth  to  the  seventeenth  year.  The 
high  schools,  much  more  numerous  than  the  colleges 
and  universities,  place  within  the  reach  of  a  very  large 
number  of  pupils  an  education  half  elementary  and 
half  secondary,  which  terminates  equivalently  on  a  level 
with  our  class  de  seconde.  We  must  mention  also  the 
technical  schools,  which  are  about  of  the  same  rank 
as  the  high  schools  as  far  as  the  age  of  the  pupils 
is  concerned,  but  differ  from  them  in  their  pro 
grammes  of  studies  and  in  their  failure  to  prepare 


288  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

students  for  the  university,  granting,  instead,  special 
diplomas. 

As  a  rule,  girls  attend  the  same  day-school  as  boys, 
and  on  an  equal  footing  with  them;  but  boarding- 
schools  for  both  in  common  are  extremely  rare.1  The 
schools  for  girls,  which  are  chiefly  boarding-schools, 
are  usually  called  academies  when  they  correspond  to 
the  high  schools.  With  a  more  advanced  course  of 
study  they  take  the  name  of  college,  and  keep  that 
name  even  when  quite  worthy  the  title  of  university, 
as  is  the  case,  for  example,  with  Bryn  Mawr  near 
Philadelphia,  Vassar  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and 
Smith  and  Wellesley  in  Massachusetts, —  the  four 
women's  colleges  which,  as  I  was  given  to  under 
stand,  are  the  most  important.  We  shall  visit 
the  first  two  of  these.  Trinity  College,  which  we 
described  in  the  preceding  chapter,  bids  fair  to  take 
rank  in  this  list  of  superior  institutions. 

In  short,  then,  it  would  be  permissible  to  divide 
American  instruction  into  four  grades :  the  grammar 
school,  equivalent  to  the  French  ens  eignement  primaire ; 
the  high  school,  equivalent  to  our  primaire  superieur 
and  to  the  first  two-thirds  of  our  secondaire ;  the  college, 
equivalent  to  the  end  of  our  secondaire  and  to  the  begin 
ning  of  our  superieur;  and  the  university,  which  corre- 

1  As  an  example  of  real  coeducation,  we  must  mention,  before  all  others,  Cornell 
University,  at  Ithaca,  New  York.  This  institution  was  founded  in  1868.  It  com 
prises  a  collegiate  department  of  1,576  young  men  and  291  young  women,  a  graduate 
department  of  1 5  8  men  students  and  47  women  students,  and  a  professional  depart 
ment  of  534  men  students  and  48  women  students.  There  are  6  women  professors 
and  321  men  professors.  These  are  the  figures  for  the  academic  year  1900—1901, 
published  in  1902. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  289 

spends  on  the  whole  to  our  faculte  and  to  our  grande 
hole.  The  colleges  and  universities  together  constitute 
what  is  called  "  higher  education." 

That  which  makes  the  system  seem  more  compli 
cated  than  it  really  is,  is  the  absolute  power  left  to  the 
founders  and  to  |the  chief  officials  to  establish  and  to 
place  in  juxtaposition  in  the  same  institution,  if  they 
see  fit,  all  these  kinds  of  instruction. 

The  eagerness  of  Americans  for  education,  and  the 
readiness  with  which  they  favor  all  benevolent  means 
of  extending  it,  are  well  known.  Public  money  and 
private  gifts  make  libraries  and  museums  and  labora 
tories  spring  up  as  if  by  magic. 

But  it  is,  after  all,  the  number  of  schools  and  of 
scholars  which  is  the  most  convincing  proof  of  the 
deep  interest  taken  by  the  American  people  in  edu 
cation. 

In  the  United  States,  on  the  average,  one  person 
in  every  four  gets  into  a  school  of  some  sort  in  the 
course  of  a  year.  The  statistics  for  the  elementary 
schools  not  being  very  complete,  except  for  villages 
of  upwards  of  eight  thousand  inhabitants,  we  shall  not 
consider  them;  beside,  they  are  not  the  most  signifi 
cant.  Suffice  it  to  say  that,  generally  speaking,  all 
children  attend  school.  Thirty-one  States  have  made 
school  attendance  obligatory,  and  very  soon  it  will  be 
so  in  all  the  States.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  pro 
portion  of  young  people  who  raise  themselves  above 
the  first  grade.  The  record  of  progress  in  higher 


290  IN   THE   LAND   OF 

education  is  still  more  remarkable.  In  ten  years  the 
proportion  of  the  population  to  advance  their  education 
beyond  the  elementary  grade  has  increased  by  more 
than  fifty  per  cent.  What  is  perhaps  more  remark 
able  still,  when  one  thinks  of  the  reputation  for 
utilitarianism  which  is  universally  ascribed  to  them,  is 
the  fact  that  Americans  are  turning  more  and  more 
toward  the  classical  studies.  The  higher  education  of 
the  colleges,  universities,  and  post-graduate  depart 
ments  shows  a  marked  preponderance  in  favor  of  the 
more  liberal  studies. 

We  will  glance  at  certain  statistics  which  concern  the 
enrolment  in  certain  professions.  From  1890  to  1901, 
each  group  of  a  hundred  students  in  dentistry  had 
increased  by  208,  in  law  by  202,  in  medicine  by  73,  in 
pharmacy  by  54,  in  theology  by  7.  This  last,  the 
least  favored  among  the  professions,  counted  in  1901 
among  the  Catholics  28  schools  or  seminaries,  1,836 
students,  properties  valued  at  $3,773,000,  and  endow 
ments  valued  at  $747,300;  among  the  Presbyterians, 
29  schools,  1,249  students,  $3,476,622  worth  of 
property,  $7,905,860  in  endowments;  among  the  Bap 
tists,  12  schools,  1,902  students,  $829,631  in  property, 
$2,258,952  in  endowments;  among  the  Methodists, 
divided  into  five  sects,  18  schools,  989  students, 
$1,430,000  in  property,  $1,470,000  in  endowments. 
Then  come  the  Lutherans,  with  22  schools,  953 
students,  $1,348,650  in  property,  $708,423  in  endow 
ments;  the  Congregationalists,  with  10  schools,  397 
students,  $1,161,783  in  property,  $3,482,325  in 
endowments;  and  the  Episcopalians,  with  13  schools, 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  291 

363  students,  $2,695,197  in  property,  and  $3,532,594 
in  endowments.1 

This  is,  no  doubt,  a  very  dry  enumeration.  It  is 
of  interest,  nevertheless,  if  only  as  showing  that  the 
success  of  a  church  does  not  depend  upon  its  wealth, 
nor  even  directly  upon  the  number  of  its  ministers. 
In  proportion  to  the  number  of  its  faithful  in  the 
United  States,  Catholicism  is  evidently  below  the 
principal  Protestant  churches  in  the  number  of  its 
ecclesiastical  students,  and  particularly  in  endowments 
of  seminaries.  And  yet  in  other  respects  it  is  making 
rapid  progress.  It  is  not  a  bad  sign,  I  think,  that 
with  less  resources  and  a  smaller  staff  it  can  obtain 
greater  results  than  its  competitors.  But  where  Catholi 
cism  carries  off  the  palm,  without  possibility  of  com 
parison,  is  in  the  number  of  its  parochial  schools.  In 
1903  it  counted  no  less  than  4,001  such  schools,  con 
taining  986,088  children.  Similar  statistics  for  the 
other  denominations  do  not  exist;  but  from  compari 
sons  made  in  many  places  it  is  evident  that  they  would 
be  far  from  equalling  it,  in  this  respect,  even  if  they 
should  all  be  combined. 

Dr.  Harris  would  not  allow  me  to  leave  the 
Bureau  of  Education  until  he  had  provided  me  with 
an  official  letter  permitting  me  to  visit  and  to  study  at 
my  own  convenience  all  institutions  of  public  instruc 
tion.  The  first  use  I  made  of  this  letter  was  to  visit  a 

1  There  still  remain  non-sectarians,  3  schools  and  153  students ;  the  Christians,  3 
schools  and  153  students  ;  the  Disciples,  3  schools  and  77  students  ;  the  Jews,  3  schools 
and  99  students;  the  Universalists,  3  schools  and  49  students;  and,  having  each  only  I 
school,  the  Evangelical  Association,  with  45  students,  the  Moravian  Brothers  with  29, 
the  Unitarians  with  24,  and  the  Swedenborgians  with  6. 


292  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

public  high  school  in  Washington  itself.  There  are 
four  of  them  in  the  city,  beside  a  business  school,  or 
hole  de  commerce.  Of  the  four,  I  concluded  that  the 
one  on  M  Street,  would  prove  most  interesting  to  me, 
as  it  is  attended  by  negroes  only.  The  regulations  and 
the  studies  are  precisely  the  same  as  in  any  other  high 
school,  and  the  pupils  presented  a  peculiar  interest. 

To  be  admitted  into  a  high  school  one  must  be 
a  graduate  of  a  public  grammar  school,  or  else  pass  an 
examination  in  English  (grammar  and  composition), 
United  States  history  and  civics,  geography,  arithme 
tic,  and  elementary  algebra.  No  boarding-pupils  are 
received.  Tuition  is  entirely  free,  and  the  importance 
of  this  feature  can  be  seen  since  in  this  way  a  fair  de 
gree  of  education  is  brought  within  the  reach  of  pupils 
of  all  classes.  Contrary  to  the  custom  prevailing  in 
the  elementary  schools,  the  pupils  must  pay  for  their 
books.  The  course  is  four  years  in  the  academic  and 
scientific  departments,  and  two  years  in  the  commer 
cial.  Students  completing  satisfactorily  one  of  the  first 
two  may  enter  a  normal  school  and  become  teachers, 
or  pass  on  to  the  college  and  university.  The 
required  subjects  in  the  academic  department  for  the 
first  year  are  English,  history,  algebra,  and  Latin ;  for 
the  second  year,  English,  English  history,  geometry, 
Latin,  physics  or  chemistry.  In  the  third  and  fourth 
years,  English  and  Latin  are  the  only  required  subjects ; 
French,  German,  Spanish,  Greek,  history,  trigonome 
try,  advanced  geometry,  chemistry,  physics,  and  political 
economy  are  optional.  Beside  the  ordinary  text 
books,  I  find  the  following  French  works  indicated: 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  293 

third  year,  "  Tartarin  de  Tarascon";  fourth  year, 
Laboulaye's  "  Contes  Bleus  "  ;  Rostand's  "  Roma 
nesques";"  Le Misanthrope,"  "LeCid," and "Athalie." 
This  programme,  it  is  true,  is  that  in  use  in  the  District 
of  Columbia;  but  it  differs  from  those  in  use  else 
where  only  in  certain  particulars. 

I  arrived  then,  one  morning,  about  ten  o'clock,  at 
"  the  colored  high  school."  I  rang  several  times ;  no 
answer.  I  had  only  to  push  the  door ;  everything  was 
open,  as  usual.  But  although  everything  was  open, 
and  I  could  easily  see  the  classes  working,  there 
was  no  one  to  whom  I  could  speak.  I  went  back  to 
the  entrance  and  pressed  the  electric  button ;  but  with 
out  success.  Fortunately,  I  espied,  near  a  staircase, 
this  notice:  "Principal's  room  on  the  second  floor." 
I  went  upstairs,  and  seeing  seated  in  an  office,  whose 
door  was  open,  a  negress,  pretty,  young,  and  intelligent- 
looking,  I  addressed  her,  explained  the  object  of  my 
visit,  showed  her  Dr.  Harris's  letter,  and  asked  to  see 
the  Principal.  "I  am  the  Principal,"  she  said;  and 
she  gave  me  an  outline  of  the  courses  of  study, 
answered  my  questions,  and  offered  most  graciously  to 
show  or  to  explain  anything  that  might  be  of  interest 
to  me.  The  school  has  a  registry  of  530  pupils,  from 
fourteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age,  130  boys  and  400 
girls,  all  colored.  We  entered  the  different  classes 
without  interrupting  the  work  other  than  by  a  short 
introduction  to  the  professors.  The  teaching  staff 
whom  I  met  comprised  only  women,  —  all,  like  the 
students,  more  or  less  black.  There  were  all  shades 
of  color,  from  olive  to  ebony ;  but  not  a  single  white 


294  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

face,  although  many  approached  it.  It  is  likely  that 
the  parents  do  not  belong  exclusively  to  the  negro  race. 
These  young  people  seemed  attentive,  wide-awake,  and 
intelligent ;  the  impression  they  made  was  far  from 
being  an  unpleasant  one. 

I  could  do  no  more  than  hurry  through  the  science 
classes,  which  they  were  anxious  to  show  me  on  account 
of  the  very  fine  laboratories ;  but  I  stopped  in  an 
English  class  where  one  of  George  Eliot's  novels  was 
being  explained,  and  where  I  heard  some  very  satisfac 
tory  answers.  I  then  asked  to  hear  a  lesson  in  Latin. 
The  Principal  replied  that  there  would  be  one  in  a  few 
minutes,  but  that  it  was  she  who  must  give  it.  "  All 
the  more  reason  why  I  should  like  to  hear  it,"  I  made 
bold  to  say,  "if  you  have  no  objection." 

The  Latin  class  contained  sixteen  pupils,  of  whom 
three  were  young  girls.  As  soon  as  I  had  been  intro 
duced,  she  began  to  explain  the  first  part  of  the  "^Eneid." 
Those  called  upon  to  recite  acquitted  themselves  so 
creditably  that  I  suspected  a  recent  previous  acquain 
tance  with  the  passage;  at  any  rate,  the  explanation 
must  have  been  followed  with  the  closest  attention  and 
well  remembered.  But  there  was  one  thing  certain, 
and  that  was  the  excellence  of  the  explanations  which 
the  Professor  gave,  in  my  presence,  of  the  subject  of 
the  poem  in  "general,  of  Virgil's  aim,  of  the  historical 
and  mythological  allusions,  of  the  metre,  of  the  gram 
matical  rules,  and  the  matter  of  the  text.  For  my  own 
part,  I  should  have  been  incapable  of  such  accurate 
knowledge  and  such  pedagogical  ability.  We  spent 
the  entire  hour  on  the  first  eleven  lines  of  the  poem; 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  295 

and  without  being  aware  of  it  I  stayed  to  the  end, 
deeply  interested.  It  is  not  every  day  that  one  has 
occasion  to  sing  the  Trojan  hero  (the  teacher  strongly 
recommended  "hero"  as  a  translation  of  virum),  or 
the  fabled  beginnings  of  Rome,  in  the  society  of 
American  negroes  under  the  direction  of  a  woman 
of  their  own  race. 

Coming  out  from  our  Latin  lesson,  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  the  entire  troup,  coming  from  the 
different  classes,  file  by  in  ranks,  two  by  two,  in  abso 
lute  silence.  Seeing  that  I  appeared  surprised  at  this 
military  gait,  the  Principal  remarked,  "  With  such  a 
large  number  of  pupils,  this  is  necessary  for  good 
order  and  for  rapidity."  We  then  saw  a  short  exer 
cise  in  gymnastics,  which  takes  the  place  of  recess,  and 
during  which  the  boys  and  girls  are  separated.  While 
looking  at  them  we  continued  talking.  My  amiable 
guide  was  happy  to  tell  me  that  the  previous  year  she 
had  been  able  to  obtain  for  one  of  her  students 
a  scholarship  at  Harvard  University1;  and  this,  she 
thought,  with  good  reason,  would  be  a  splendid  encour 
agement  for  the  others,  and  a  means  of  increasing  the 
number  of  leaders  who  seek  to  elevate  her  race.  I 
learned  also  that  the  school  is  non-sectarian,  admitting 

1  Harvard  University,  and  its  illustrious  president,  Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot,  have 
always  been  noted  for  their  liberality  toward  the  negroes.  In  1896  they  conferred 
their  highest  honorary  degree  upon  Booker  T.  Washington.  Very  recently  the  news 
papers  spoke  of  the  success  of  another  negro,  William  Pickens,  who  received  the 
degree  of  M.  A.  from  Yale  University.  Pickens  began  life  as  a  deck-hand  on  a 
ferry-boat.  He  spent  his  nights  in  studying.  When  he  had  saved  up  enough  money, 
he  resolved  to  go  to  Yale  for  higher  studies.  He  set  to  work  bravely  to  black  boots 
for  the  students,  and  to  clean  windows  ;  and  in  this  way  he  earned  enough  to  pay  the 
tuition  and  living  expenses  of  his  first  year.  His  fellow-students  and  professors,  soon 
observing  his  extraordinary  talents,  clubbed  together  and  paid  his  expenses,  in  order  to 
let  him  devote  himself  exclusively  to  his  studies. 


296  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

Protestants  and  Catholics  on  the  same  footing.  But 
for  all  that,  it  is  not  without  religion.  Every  morning 
at  nine  o'clock,  before  class  recitations  begin,  a  portion 
of  the  Bible  is  read,  a  hymn  is  sung,  and  "  Our  Father  " 
is  recited.  I  was  invited  to  assist  at  this  religious  exer 
cise  on  any  day  following;  but  for  lack  of  time  was 
obliged  to  decline,  much  to  my  regret.  When  I  was 
taking  my  leave,  after  having  thanked  this  interesting 
Principal,  I  expressed  the  hope  that  I  should  meet  her 
again  some  day  in  France.  "  I  have  wished  for  a  long 
time  to  spend  my  vacation  there,"  she  replied,  "  but  I 
would  not  dare.  I  do  not  know  anyone  there  who 
could  advise  me,  and  they  are  less  accustomed  in  your 
country  to  seeing  colored  people.  I  would  not  know 
how  to  get  along."  I  told  her  that  there  are  Summer 
courses  and  associations  for  foreign  students,  and  that 
without  excessive  rashness  I  could  promise  to  find  for 
her,  if  she  wished  it,  some  family  in  or  near  Paris  who 
would  willingly  receive  her  as  a  boarder.  We  parted 
very  good  friends. 

To  see  these  530  young  negroes  and  negresses, 
well  dressed  and  well  bred,  under  teachers  of  their  own 
race,  pursuing  the  same  studies  as  our  average  college 
students,  who  would  dream  of  the  existence  of  a  ter 
rible  race-question  in  the  United  States?  I  have  said 
elsewhere  that  the  conflict  between  the  various  nation 
alities  in  the  Republic  possesses  real  seriousness  only 
in  the  fervid  imagination  of  Europeans.  But  it  is  not 
so  with  the  antagonism  between  the  whites  and  the 
blacks,  or  rather  with  the  difficulty  of  making  two 
peoples,  the  most  widely  different  that  can  be  imagined, 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  297 

live  side  by  side :  the  Americans, —  the  most  modern 
and  progressive  of  men ;  and  the  negroes, —  primitive 
and  rudimentary  beings  repressed  and  kept  down  to 
the  lowest  degree  of  evolution  by  three  centuries  of 
slavery  and  thousands  of  years  spent  in  savagery. 

Socially,  the  white  man  experiences  a  strong 
repugnance  to  the  society  of  negroes;  and  the  latter, 
especially  when  they  are  numerous,  as  in  the  South, 
are  obliged  to  have  their  own  schools  and  churches, 
their  own  places  of  meeting,  and  special  reserved  places 
in  cars  and  omnibuses.  To  admit  them  to  one's  table 
would  be  considered  scandalous;  and  the  act  of  Presi 
dent  Roosevelt,  though  without  significance  to  us,  in 
inviting  Booker  T.  Washington  to  dine  with  him  at 
the  White  House,  was  regarded  with  abhorrence  by 
prominent  newspapers  of  the  South. 

Morally,  the  negroes  are  reproached  for  their  ten 
dency  to  thievishness,  laziness,  and  vanity,  but  above 
all,  for  such  a  shocking  lack  of  respect  for  white  women 
that  the  latter  in  some  places  are  subject  to  continual 
alarm  ;  and  it  is  usually  for  this  offence,  be  it  said  with 
out  any  wish  to  justify  the  custom,  that  the  odious 
practice  of  lynching  has  sprung  up.  Professor  W.  E.  B. 
Du  Bois,  an  eminent  professor  in  the  colored  Univer 
sity  of  Atlanta,  and  himself  a  negro,  says  that  out  of 
every  hundred  of  his  race  nine  are  hopelessly  vicious,  ten 
intelligent,  and  the  rest  more  or  less  destitute  of  re 
sources,  of  education,  or  of  true  independence. 

Politically,  the  negroes  enjoy  the  same  rights  as 
the  white  men ;  they  have  sometimes  controlled  elec 
tions,  and  there  are  States  where  in  a  not  far  distant 


298  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

future  they  may  be  able  to  secure  a  majority  and  thus 
make  themselves  masters  of  the  situation.  Can  one 
picture  Americans  submitting  to  a  government  by 
blacks?  Up  to  the  present  time,  clever  laws,  adroit 
manoeuvres,  and,  it  must  be  said,  election  frauds  also, 
have  averted  this  peril,  this  "defeat  of  civilization." 
But  in  this  matter  there  are  limits  of  which  the  inviolable 
Constitution  prohibits  the  transgression;  and,  more 
over,  the  difficulty  cannot  always  be  got  rid  of  by 
making  electoral  ballots  good  for  admission  to  a  circus, 
by  so  multiplying  the  ballot-boxes  that  the  ignorant 
cannot  tell  where  to  cast  a  vote,  or,  as  in  Louisiana, 
by  requiring  all  native-born  citizens  to  pay  a  voting 
tax  of  three  hundred  dollars  unless  their  ancestors 
possessed  the  right  to  vote  before  1862,  the  year  of 
emancipation  for  the  blacks. 

In  all  this  there  is  hardly  any  danger  for  the  North, 
protected  as  it  is  by  its  climate ;  the  negroes  there  are 
less  numerous,  and  their  cause  rather  excites  sympathy. 
In  the  central  regions,  where  one  sees  a  large  number 
of  them,  they  are  less  esteemed,  but  not  yet  feared. 
It  is  in  the  South  that  people  are  uneasy  and  irritated, 
that  they  seek  means  to  avoid  the  growing  "peril,"  and 
that  they  propose  solutions  not  one  of  which  seems  to 
be  acceptable  to  the  good  sense,  the  fairness,  the  Chris 
tian  spirit,  and  the  sentiment  of  justice  which,  thank 
God  !  prevail  among  the  majority  of  the  citizens. 

No  one  of  any  intelligence  speaks  seriously  of 
exterminating  the  negroes,  or  of  returning  them  to 
slavery.  Very  few  hope,  even  in  a  remote  future,  for 
the  fusion  of  the  races  :  cases  of  marriage  between 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  299 

whites  and  blacks  are  very  exceptional,  and  there  are 
States  in  the  South  where  such  marriages  are  prohibited 
by  law;  it  is  asserted,  moreover,  that  with  the  mixed 
race  fecundity  ceases  after  two  or  three  generations. 
Others,  a  little  more  numerous,  propose  the  absolute 
separation  of  the  races  by  the  removal  of  the  negroes;  it 
would  only  be  necessary,  they  say,  to  send  them  back 
to  Africa,  or  to  the  Philippines,  or  to  reserve  a  State 
for  them  exclusively, — for  example,  southern  Cali 
fornia.  If  it  is  too  complicated  a  matter  to  send  them 
all  away  at  one  swoop  ( they  are  nearly  ten  millions  in 
number),  let  125,000  of  their  women  be  expatriated 
every  year.  The  whole  transaction  would  cost  hardly 
$400,000.  This  would  not  be  paying  too  dearly  for 
the  future  welfare  of  the  nation,  and  for  the  removal 
from  the  path  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  of  an  obstacle 
which  may  compromise  his  high  destiny.  Needless 
to  say,  up  to  the  present  at  least,  good  men,  and  in  fact 
all  men  of  sound  judgment,  refuse  to  consider  a  project 
so  impracticable  and  so  obnoxious  to  the  negroes,  who 
do  not  find  themselves  at  all  badly  off  in  the  United 
States,  and  would  not,  it  is  safe  to  say,  leave 
the  country  unless  constrained  by  violence  to  do 
so.  To  the  enemies  of  the  negro  race  it  has  been 
sarcastically  observed,  "Why  not  rather  despatch 
them  all  off  at  once  to  Mars,  or  some  other 
planet?"  The  good  conduct  of  the  black  regiments 
in  the  Spanish-American  war  cannot  be  forgotten, 
and  the  question  is  asked  if  they  have  not  the  right 
to  live  in  a  country  after  having  voluntarily  risked 
their  lives  for  it. 


3oo  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

But  it  is  easier  to  discard  a  poor  solution  than  to 
find  a  good  one,  and  I  must  say  that  not  one  of  the 
many  eminent  men  with  whom  I  discussed  this  prob 
lem  of  the  negro  can  perceive  any  real  way  out  of  the 
difficulty.  They  understand,  indeed,  that  they  are  in 
this  predicament  by  reason  of  the  crime  that  was  com 
mitted  in  stealing  the  blacks  out  of  their  own  country, 
the  mistake  that  was  perhaps  made  in  emancipating 
them  without  preparation,  and  certainly  in  conferring 
upon  them  at  the  outset  full  political  rights ;  but  how 
now  to  redeem  these  errors,  without  violating  the 
sacred  principles  of  the  Constitution,  is  the  problem. 
It  would  be  well  to  raise  the  franchise  qualifications; 
but  that  would  remedy  only  a  small  number  of  incon 
veniences,  and  it  should,  to  be  just,  apply  to  the 
whites  as  well  as  to  the  negroes ;  it  is  hardly  likely  that 
the  whites  will  allow  themselves  to  be  deprived  of 
their  acquired  power.  Must  we,  then,  give  way  to 
alarm  and  discouragement?  That  would  not  be 
American.  As  it  stands,  the  situation  is  still  toler 
able;  if  in  the  future  it  should  become  more  serious, 
we  shall  then  discover  a  way  to  remedy  it.  Is  not  the 
United  States  able  to  fight  its  own  battles  ?  And,  any 
way,  what  is  the  use  of  borrowing  trouble  ? 

We  recognize  in  this  the  invincible  optimism  of  a 
people  conscious  of  their  vitality.  But  although  it 
may  help  us  to  bear  them  better,  confidence  in  the 
future  is  not  a  direct  remedy  from  present  evils ;  it  is 
not  solving  the  negro  problem  to  say  that  it  will  end 
by  solving  itself.  Therefore,  the  most  discerning 
minds  and  the  most  generous  souls  are  devoting 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  301 

themselves  with  all  their  strength  to  the  education  of 
the  blacks,  the  only  work  which  is  at  present  good, 
and  the  only  one  from  which  we  may  expect,  in  default 
of  a  prompt  and  universal  regeneration  of  the  race,  at 
least  the  certain  material  and  moral  amelioration  of  a 
considerable  number. 

But  what  education  will  be  the  most  efficacious  ? 
Frankly,  I  do  not  believe  it  will  be  that  of  which  we 
saw  so  brilliant  an  example  in  the  high  school.  Higher 
education  is  necessary  for  the  negroes,  to  train  up 
among  them  teachers,  doctors,  lawyers,  ministers, —  a 
picked  class  able  to  assure  leadership,  and  to  aid  their 
rise  toward  a  better  life.  But  such  education  must  be 
only  by  way  of  exception,  if  it  is  not  to  result  in  the 
formation  of  a  lot  of  second-rate  leaders  unfitted  for 
serious  work.  What  the  great  majority  need  in  the 
way  of  education  is,  together  with  the  reading,  writing, 
and  arithmetic,  a  practical  and  technical  training,  a 
preparation  for  business,  and,  better  yet,  for  the 
manual  trades. 

It  is  with  this  idea  in  mind  that  the  admirable 
Booker  T.  Washington  is  training  the  eleven  hundred 
pupils  in  his  institute  at  Tuskegee,  where  young  girls 
are  taught  housekeeping  as  well  as  bookkeeping,  and 
household  science  with  more  care  than  the  science  of 
history ;  where  the  young  men  themselves  have  built 
the  school  and  manufactured  the  furniture  of  their 
rooms ;  where  two  days  out  of  every  five  are  devoted 
to  work  that  was  once,  but  is  not  now,  called  servile. 
<c  I  believe  in  the  future  of  my  race,"  says  this  great 
educator,  "in  proportion  as  they  learn  to  do  better 


302  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

than  anybody  else  does,  and  as  they  learn  how  to 
render  services  which  shall  be  regarded  as  indis 
pensable."1  And  he  cites  as  an  example  his  own 
experience  at  the  Hampton  School,  where  he  was 
employed  as  a  porter  and  given  the  privilege  of  attend 
ing  the  lectures  because  he  had  swept  to  perfection  the 
rooms  assigned  him  to  do  the  first  day.  The  negroes 
can  clean  better  than  others ;  they  can  become  excellent 
workmen  in  all  kinds  of  trades;  at  Tuskegee  they 
make  bricks  whose  reputation  for  excellence  has  spread 
abroad,  and  which  find  a  ready  market  in  the  neighbor 
hood;  but  many  years  and  perhaps  many  centuries 
must  pass  before  they  can  discharge  "better  than  any 
body  else"  the  social  duties  of  a  superior  race.  Their 
great  liberator,  Abraham  Lincoln,  was  a  manual  laborer 
before  he  became  President  of  the  United  States. 
Races  follow  the  same  process  of  evolution  as  individ 
uals,  only  much  more  slowly. 

Pascal  considers  "all  mankind  in  the  course  of 
ages  as  one  man  who  exists  forever  and  who  is  con 
tinually  learning'*  But  it  is  not  forty  years  since  the 
mass  of  negroes  in  America  began  "to  learn."  The 
progress  they  have  made  in  that  short  period  leaves 
them  still  a  long  way  behind  the  other  citizens  of  the 
Republic,  and  it  is  from  this  fact  that  the  grave  diffi 
culties  of  the  question  arise ;  but  the  ground  covered 
is  appreciable,  and  we  can  to  some  extent  agree  with 
this  view  of  Booker  T.  Washington  himself:  "One 
must  have  been  in  contact  with  the  negroes  for  twenty 
years,  as  I  have  been,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  South, 

l"Up  from  Slavery.0 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  303 

to  appreciate  the  fact  that  they  are  doing  well,  in  spite 
of  all  that  can  be  said;  developing  slowly,  perhaps, 
but  surely,  whether  from  the  material,  the  moral,  or 
the  intellectual  point  of  view/'  To-day,  no  doubt, 
sixty  out  of  every  hundred  negroes  remain  illiterate; 
but  it  is  not  half  a  century  since  they  were  nearly 
all  so,  and  since  the  laws  of  many  States,  as,  for 
example,  Louisiana  and  North  Carolina,  punished  with 
a  fine  of  two  hundred  dollars  the  shocking  crime  of 
attempting  to  teach  them  to  read.  Even  the  poorest 
negro  homes  in  the  cities  of  America  to-day  are  like 
royal  palaces  compared  with  the  old-time  cabin  of 
"Uncle  Tom"  and  the  African  hut  which  for  countless 
centuries  sheltered  so  many  generations  of  savage  life.1 

1 1  did  not  have  an  opportunity  to  make  a  close  study  of  the  religious  condition  of 
the  negroes.  The  documents  published  in  1903  by  the  University  of  Atlanta,  entitled 
"  The  Negro  Church,"  are,  notwithstanding  their  interest,  too  incomplete  and  too 
confused  to  supply  the  lack  of  personal  information.  From  them  it  is  evident  that  the 
Baptist  Church  is  easily  the  dominant  church  among  the  negroes;  as  for  the  Catholics, 
so  small  a  figure  is  assigned  to  them  (14,517  out  of  2,673,977)  that  it  must  be  due  to 
a  neglect  of  distinction  between  whites  and  blacks  in  some  returns. 

Certain  statements  of  a  man  closely  in  touch  with  the  subject,  Rev.  Atticus  C. 
Haygood,  will  be  read  with  interest.  The  University  of  Atlanta  deems  them  of 
sufficient  value  to  be  reprinted  in  extenso  on  the  cover  of  the  volume  quoted.  "  I 
have  seen  the  negroes  in  all  their  religious  emotions,  in  their  death-like  trances,  and  in 
their  wilder  stages  of  excitement.  I  have  preached  the  Gospel  to  them  in  cities, 
in  towns,  and  on  plantations.  I  have  absolute  confidence  in  the  sincerity  of  their  religion, 
nor  can  I  doubt  its  reality.  Their  notions  may  be  oftentimes  coarse,  their  ideas  of 
truth  too  material,  and  this  sometimes  to  the  point  of  being  either  shocking  or  grotesque; 
they  may  incline  more  to  a  sensual  than  to  a  moral  life,  and  show  many  defects  in  their 
religious  development;  nevertheless,  religion  is  vital  among  them;  it  is  their  strongest, 
their  most  striking,  and  most  efficacious  trait.  They  are  more  remarkable  in  this  than 
in  any  other  respect,  and  as  there  is  no  influence  in  this  country  which  has  contributed 
so  much  to  the  uplifting  of  their  character,  neither  will  there  be  any  more  decisive  in 
their  future  development." 


3o4  IN   THE    LAND    OF 


CHAPTER    XV 
BALTIMORE    REVISITED 

Change  of  Plans. — At  Baltimore. —  Father  Magnien :  the  Influence 
of  a  French  Priest  on  the  Church  in  America. —  The  Great 
Role  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  the  Episcopate. —  Baltimore  a 
Centre  of  Catholic  Life. —  The  Plenary  Councils. —  Mgr. 
Falconio^  the  Apostolic  Delegate. —  How  a  Parish  is  Formed 
in  the  United  States. —  An  Enemy  of  Abuses :  Air.  Charles 
Bonaparte. —  His  Ideas  on  the  Parish  School. —  Ought  It  to 
Receive  Grants  from  Public  Funds?  —  No  Change  De 
sired. —  The  Prosperous  Convent  of  Notre  Dame  of  Mary 
land. —  Bryn  Mawr  School. —  'Johns  Hopkins  University. 

OETURNING  to  St.  Patrick's  Rectory  from  a 
walk  one  morning,  I  was  delightfully  surprised  to 
find  Archbishop  Ireland,  whom  I  had  missed  seeing 
in  Minnesota.  He  had  come  to  the  capital  to  attend 
the  reunion  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
which  was  to  be  signalized  by  the  unveiling  of  the 
statue  of  Grant's  greatest  coadjutor-in-arms,  General 
Sherman.  I  expressed  to  the  Archbishop  my  regret 
at  not  being  able  to  remain  for  the  reunion,  as  I  had 
to  revisit  Baltimore,  call  at  Philadelphia,  and  make  place 
for  a  final  week  in  New  York.  His  Grace  urged  me 
to  change  these  plans  so  as  not  to  miss  the  Washington 
celebration;  and  accordingly  I  determined  to  go  to 
Baltimore  at  once,  and  to  come  back  to  the  capital  in 
due  season  for  the  great  event. 

The  day  I  had  spent  in  Baltimore  at  the  house  of 


Copyright,  Kern  Bros.,  New  York 


ARCHBISHOP    IRELAND 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  305 

Cardinal  Gibbons  had  by  no  means  exhausted  my 
interest  in  that  noble  city.  I  was  particularly  desirous 
of  making  a  pilgrimage,  if  I  may  use  the  word,  to  the 
abode  of  the  late  Father  Magnien,  priest  of  St. 
Sulpice,  and  one  of  the  most  admirable  men  I  ever 
knew.  His  successor  as  Superior  of  the  Grand  Sem 
inary,  and  for  a  long  time  his  faithful  co-laborer  there, 
Father  Dyer,  who  treats  as  his  own  friends  those  who 
knew  and  loved  Father  Magnien,  had  already  given 
me  an  invitation  to  call,  so  I  was  sure  of  a  cordial 
welcome.  We  met  in  Father  Magnien's  former  room, 
and  talked  of  this  extraordinary  French  priest,  who 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  according  to  the 
statements  of  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Father  Dyer,  and 
others  of  the  clergy,  had  exercised  on  the  Church  in 
America  a  deeper  influence  than  any  other  man.  He 
was  full  of  good  sense,  was  keen,  frank,  and  unaffected. 
Well  informed  on  all  subjects,  he  always  turned  his 
knowledge  to  the  most  practical  purposes  and  ex 
pressed  it  in  the  clearest  methods.  In  matters  of 
principle  he  was  firm  and  undeviating,  but  was  careful 
to  adapt  himself  wisely  to  circumstances.  Faithful  to 
his  native  country,  he  was  at  the  same  time  devoted 
heart  and  soul  to  the  United  States,  his  country  by 
adoption.  In  a  word,  he  was  at  once  a  French  Sul- 
pician  and  a  true  American ;  and  in  the  union  of  these 
two,  he  brought  to  each  some  excellences  that  it  did 
not  of  itself  possess.  When,  in  1898,  he  was  obliged 
to  go  to  Paris  to  undergo  a  serious  operation,  and 
spent  nearly  a  year  at  St.  Sulpice,  the  most  intelligent 
and  pious  seminarians  there  eagerly  consulted  him  in 


jo6  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

order  to  gain  new  knowledge  and  methods  for  the 
promulgation  of  the  Gospel.  When  he  died,  on  the 
twenty-first  of  December,  1902,  those  who  for  thirty 
years  had  been  his  disciples  at  Baltimore  gave  utterance 
to  the  most  marked  expressions  of  admiration.  In 
fact,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  other  churchman  in  America 
ever  received  such  a  tribute  of  praise  and  gratitude, 
from  episcopate  and  priesthood,  as  was  laid  on  the  bier 
of  Father  Magnien. 

Some  of  the  more  weighty  of  these  testimonials 
have  been  collected  in  a  printed  memorial.  In  the 
preface  to  this,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  who  so  long  enjoyed 
both  the  counsel  and  the  friendship  of  Father  Magnien, 
is  at  a  loss  how  adequately  to  praise  in  him  the  friend, 
the  priest,  the  citizen,  the  man  of  affection,  the  man  of 
faith,  the  man  of  action.  "For  me,"  he  says,  "accus 
tomed  as  I  was  to  consult  him  on  all  important  ques 
tions,  and  always  to  regard  him  as  my  strongest  support, 
his  death  leaves  me  utterly  shaken,  and  it  seems  as 
though  I  had  lost  my  right  arm.  In  very  truth,  he 
was  the  half  of  my  soul."  When  we  reflect  upon  the 
work  done  by  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  not  only 
for  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  but  by  example 
and  influence  throughout  the  world,  what  a  eulogy  of 
Father  Magnien  these  words  contain ! 

How  important  the  work  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  has 
been  I  had  fresh  opportunities  of  learning  during  this 
second  visit  to  Baltimore.  His  Eminence  honored 
me  with  several  interviews,  and  we  were  together  for  a 
long  ride  through  the  beautiful  country  that  surrounds 
his  episcopal  city.  From  this  intercourse  with  him  I 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  307 

carried  away  a  deep  impression  of  the  wisdom,  pru 
dence,  and  tact  with  which  this  true  shepherd  of  souls 
has  led  his  people  into  the  ways  of  fidelity  to  Catholic 
teaching,  respect  for  the  convictions  of  others,  loyalty 
to  country,  and  generous  sympathy  for  the  noble  aspira 
tions  of  our  age.  At  the  beginning  of  my  sojourn  in 
America,  I  should  doubtless  have  less  readily  appre 
ciated  the  mental  qualities  of  the  Cardinal,  which  are 
solid  and  just  rather  than  conspicuous  and  daring;  or 
his  achievements,  which  are  substantial  rather  than 
ostentatious ;  or,  again,  his  eloquence,  which  he  prefers 
should  be  of  practical  use  rather  than  for  literary  dis 
play;  or  finally,  that  combination  of  traits  of  character 
which  makes  a  true  and  genuine  man  rather  than  the 
mere  appearance  of  one.  I  say,  I  should  not  have 
been  prepared  at  first  properly  to  estimate  all  this ;  but 
as  I  became  more  familiar  with  American  conditions, 
and  more  permeated  with  the  American  spirit, —  a 
spirit  which  is  simple,  practical,  frank,  optimistic, 
and  tolerant, —  I  understood  how  greatly  favored  the 
Church  has  been  in  having  for  leaders  men  like  Car 
dinal  Gibbons ;  men  who  know  and  love  their  country, 
and  in  their  own  character  exhibit  in  a  high  degree  the 
qualities  most  dear  to  Americans. 

Among  the  means  that  have  helped  in  extending 
throughout  the  entire  United  States  the  influence  of 
Cardinal  Gibbons  and  Father  Magnien,  a  prominent 
place  must  be  accorded  the  Grand  Seminary  at  Balti 
more.  To-day,  when  there  are  other  Sulpician  semi 
naries  in  Boston,  New  York,  and  San  Francisco,  beside 
several  other  such  establishments  conducted  by  diocesan 


308  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

priests,  St.  Mary's  at  Baltimore  has  only  two  hundred 
and  fifty  students.  But  before  these  other  foundations 
were  made,  it  counted  three  hundred  students ;  and 
this  was  at  a  time  (it  seems  odd  to  speak  of  "the  past" 
in  young  America)  when  the  priests  of  the  country 
were  only  half  as  numerous  as  at  present.  We  are 
probably  safe  in  saying  that  one-third  of  the  priests 
now  laboring  in  the  United  States,  and  one-half  of 
the  bishops,  have  had  their  sacerdotal  training  from  St. 
Mary's  and  Father  Magnien. 

Baltimore  is  the  city  which  offers  the  best  oppor 
tunity  for  coming  in  contact  with  the  American  hier 
archy.  The  second  Plenary  Council  met  there  in 
1869,  the  year  of  Father  Magnien's  arrival.  In  a 
striking  way,  this  council  exhibited  the  unity  of  the 
Church ;  for  it  assembled  soon  after  the  close  of.  the 
Civil  War,  when  many  of  the  sects  had  been  divided 
into  Northern  and  Southern  branches  irreconcilably 
separated.  The  third  Plenary  Council,  larger  and 
more  important  than  any  other  that  had  been  held, 
also  met  in  this  city,  in  1884.  Its  sessions  were  held 
in  the  seminary  of  which  Father  Magnien  had  been 
the  Superior  for  seven  years.  He  attended  the  coun 
cil  as  theologian  of  Archbishop  Gibbons,  who  presided 
as  delegate  of  the  Holy  See.  Among  other  notable 
events  in  the  Catholic  history  of  Baltimore  have  been 
the  elevation  of  Mgr.  Gibbons  to  the  cardinalate  in 
1886;  the  centennial  of  the  American  hierarchy  in 
1889;  and  the  centennial  of  the  Seminary  itself 
in  1891. 

How  favored  a  place  Baltimore  is  for  great  ecclesi- 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  309 

astical  events,  the  opportunities  it  affords  for  picking 
up  ecclesiastical  information  and  meeting  distinguished 
churchmen,  I  learned  from  many  indications  during 
the  three  days  I  spent  there.  Mgr.  Kain,  Archbishop 
of  St.  Louis,  who  had  come  to  the  city  some  months 
previously  to  seek  medical  care  at  a  sanitarium  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity,  died  the  day  after  my  arrival.  He 
left  behind  him  the  memory  of  an  apostle,  of  a  man 
of  faith,  fortitude,  and  wisdom.  On  the  third  day  of 
my  visit,  I  found  at  dinner  with  Cardinal  Gibbons, 
Mgr.  Falconio,  Apostolic  Delegate.  I  remember  with 
what  lively  sympathy  he  expressed  himself  on  the 
religious  conditions  of  the  United  States.  He  had 
lived  there  long  enough  to  understand  those  condi 
tions,  and  to  appreciate  them  correctly.  Happening 
to  discuss  with  him  affairs  in  France,  and  anxious  to 
learn  his  opinion  of  the  separation  of  Church  and  State 
in  France,  I  was  surprised,  and  to  be  frank,  delighted, 
to  find  that  the  prospect  of  such  a  separation  far  from 
disquieted  him.  He  saw  in  such  an  event  the  way  of 
deliverance ;  a  rough  way,  indeed,  but  the  only  one 
that  could  lead  to  a  revival  of  the  religious  life  of 
France.  A  meeting  that  impressed  me  still  more, 
however,  was  one  that  I  had  with  a  zealous  priest  of 
the  Columbus  diocese.  So  edifying  and  instructive 
was  his  conversation,  that  I  asked  permission  to  jot 
down  notes  while  he  talked.  The  following  facts, 
which  sum  up  what  he  told  me,  will  be  of  service  to 
whomsoever  may  wish  to  investigate  the  causes  of  the 
progress  of  Catholicism  in  the  United  States. 

The  Reverend  Joseph  Weigand,  of  the  diocese  of 


jio  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

Columbus,  was  sent  fifteen  years  ago  to  Bridgeport,  in 
Belmont  County,  Ohio,  which  is  a  mining  district  forty 
miles  long  by  twenty  wide.  It  was  his  first  appoint 
ment;  and  he  was  the  first  priest  ever  resident  in  the 
region.  On  his  arrival,  he  found  a  virgin  soil, —  no 
church,  no  priest's  house,  nothing.  For  a  while  he 
boarded  with  a  family,  and  went  about  among  the 
people,  finding  out  who  were  Catholics,  and  asking 
them  to  contribute  toward  the  building  of  a  church. 
His  task  was  all  the  harder  because  the  inhabitants 
were  of  all  sorts  of  nationalities.  A  majority  of  them 
spoke  English,  but  the  remainder  were  of  various 
races,  —  Poles,  Hungarians,  Croatians,  Slovacks,  Ital 
ians  from  northern  Italy,  Italians  from  southern  Italy, 
Germans,  Belgians,  and  Syrians. 

As  soon  as  Father  Weigand  had  collected  a  little 
money,  he  built  at  Bridgeport  a  small  church  and  a 
two-room  rectory,  both  of  wood.  Two  years  later,  he 
transformed  the  church  into  a  school,  and  erected  a 
new  church  of  brick.  Then  came  a  house  for  three 
Sisters  of  Charity,  and  soon  after  a  rectory  fit  to 
accommodate  two  priests  —  for  meanwhile  he  had 
found  a  curate. 

But  despite  all  this,  the  fact  remained  that  mass 
was  said  only  in  the  centre  of  the  large  mission- 
district.  So  Father  Weigand  erected  six  stations, 
which  he  and  his  curate  attended  from  Bridgeport, 
sometimes  on  Sundays,  sometimes  during  the  week. 
Two  of  these  places,  Maynard  and  Barton,  now  have 
churches  and  schools  of  their  own.  Every  day,  two 
Sisters  —  there  are  six  altogether  in  this  district  — 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  311 

take  a  train  from  Bridgeport  at  half-past  six  in 
the  morning,  in  order  to  attend  these  schools.  All 
these  churches  and  schools  are  out  of  debt,  owing  to 
the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people.  A propos 
of  this,  as  Father  Weigand  was  speaking  of  his  two 
hundred  Italians,  who  are  very  faithful  to  their  reli 
gious  duties,  I  happened  to  ask  if  he  received  any 
assistance  from  the  excellent  movement  in  behalf  of 
Italian  emigrants  instituted  by  the  Bishop  of  Piacenza. 
"No,"  said  he,  "  I  have  not.  It  is  better  that  the 
people  themselves  should  support  religion.  Give 
them  every  year  a  statement  of  receipts  and  expendi 
tures,  and  print  a  list  of  contributors,  and  they  will 
give  generously  and  ungrudgingly." 

This  zealous  missionary,  in  order  to  reach  all  the 
members  of  his  flock,  has  to  be  almost  a  Mezzofanti. 
He  speaks — at  least  well  enough  for  preaching  and 
for  hearing  confessions — Polish,  German,  Italian, 
Hungarian,  French,  and  Slavonian.  All  the  children, 
however,  without  exception,  learn  English  in  school, 
and  become  thorough  Americans.  It  took  some  in 
genuity  and  zeal  to  gain  the  favor  of  some  of  the 
elders,  it  must  be  said.  Four  years  ago,  Father 
Weigand  approached  the  little  colony  of  Hungarians, 
who  understood  a  few  words  of  German  and  English. 
"  We  must  have  a  church,"  he  said. 

"We  have  no  money,"  was  the  answer. 

"  If  you  help  to  build  one,  I  will  preach  to  you 
in  your  own  language." 

"  It  is  too  hard  a  language,"  answered  they. 

Unhesitatingly,  the  zealous  priest   set  himself  to 


ji2  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

study,  and  at  the  end  of  two  months  he  publicly  read 
the  Sunday  Gospel  in  Hungarian.  They  were  so 
delighted  that  they  complained  no  longer  of  having 
no  money,  and  gladly  assumed  their  share  of  the  con 
tributions.  When  I  asked  Father  Weigand  where  he 
said  mass  in  such  of  his  missions  as  had  no  church, 
he  answered,  "In  the  public  school/' 

Here  is  this  episode  summed  up :  Fifteen  years 
ago,  the  Bridgeport  district  had  no  priest,  no  church, 
no  Catholic  school.  To-day,  absolutely  without  out 
side  help,  and  solely  owing  to  the  activity  of  the 
pastor  and  the  generosity  of  the  working-people,  who, 
let  us  not  forget,  have  come  from  our  old  countries  of 
Europe,  this  place  possesses  two  finished  churches,  two 
others  in  course  of  construction,  three  stations  where 
mass  is  said  and  catechism  taught,  and  three  schools 
in  charge  of  Sisters.  The  population  of  the  district 
is  four  thousand ;  the  Catholics  number  one  thousand. 

Of  all  that  I  saw  and  heard  during  my  visit  to 
America,  I  think  this  conversation  with  the  pastor  of 
Bridgeport  gave  me  the  highest  idea  of  the  vitality  of 
Catholicism  in  that  country.  Our  fellow-Catholics 
there  have  had  their  heroic  age  during  the  last  hun 
dred  years,  and  their  present  prosperity  is  but  the 
merited  recompense  of  their  praiseworthy  labors. 
They  are  far  from  sitting  down  to  rest,  even  now; 
for  every  year  sees  new  schools,  new  parishes,  new 
dioceses.  But  we  need  not  wonder  if  they  seek  now 
and  then  to  lighten  the  burden  they  have  borne  so 
long;  for  example,  if  they  claim  that  the  State  should 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  313 

give  some  substantial  acknowledgment  of  their  educa 
tional  work.  Theoretically,  this  claim  ought  to  create 
no  insuperable  difficulty.  In  England,  Belgium,  and 
Holland,  the  State  allows  to  free  schools,  no  matter 
by  whom  originated  and  conducted,  a  sum  proportion 
ate  to  the  number  of  pupils  in  attendance.  Why 
could  not  a  similar  thing  be  done  in  America?  It 
would  be  a  just  return  for  the  public  service  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  maintaining  four  thousand  schools 
in  which  instruction  is  given  to  a  million  pupils. 

This  school  question  I  heard  discussed  often  in 
America,  notably  by  Father  McMillan,  a  zealous 
Paulist,  who  is  courageously  endeavoring  to  enlighten 
public  opinion  on  the  justice  of  the  Catholic  claim. 
But  the  most  striking  views  on  this  subject  were,  I 
think,  those  which  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  listen  to 
from  Mr.  Charles  Bonaparte  of  Baltimore.  This  gen 
tleman,  the  descendant  of  a  brother  of  Napoleon, 
might  on  that  ground  alone  enjoy  a  considerable  pres 
tige  in  a  country  which  admires  the  great  Emperor 
because  of  his  astounding  successes  and  his  indomi 
table  energy.  But  Mr.  Bonaparte  owes  his  eminent 
position  to  his  own  merits,  not  to  his  being  the  grand 
son  of  Jerome  Bonaparte  and  Miss  Patterson.  His 
authority  as  a  lawyer  is  unquestioned  in  the  Maryland 
courts,  and  his  legal  practice  is  large  and  lucrative. 
He  is  a  member  of  several  reform  leagues,  and  his 
censure  is  dreaded  by  dishonest  politicians.  He  has 
always  refused  to  be  a  candidate  for  office;  still,  his 
public  influence  has  grown  ever  greater,  and  is  felt  even 
in  Washington.  No  man  is  more  unsparing  in  de- 


IN   THE    LAND    OF 

nouncing  official  corruption,  and  he  cares  not  in  such 
cases  whether  the  objects  of  his  attack  are  Republicans 
like  himself,  or  Democrats.  He  has  all  of  Mr.  Roose 
velt's  rugged  integrity.  It  seems  only  natural  that  the 
President  should  hold  such  a  man  in  esteem;  and  Mr. 
Bonaparte's  appointment  as  government  prosecutor  in 
the  postal  frauds  and  Indian  Commission  show  how 
high  an  esteem  this  is.  Eminent  indeed  is  the  place 
which  this  grand-nephew  of  Napoleon  has  won  for 
himself  among  the  freest  people  on  earth,  by  the  sole 
power  of  his  austere  integrity.  In  appearance  he  bears 
distinct  marks  of  the  Bonapartes,  although  his  features 
are  less  hard  and  impassive.1 

I  found  Mr.  Bonaparte  in  his  law-office,  without 
having  had  time  to  send  previous  notice  of  my  visit. 
But  as  I  had  introductions  from  his  sister-in-law,  whom 
I  had  met  in  Paris,  and  from  his  niece,  the  Countess 
Moltke  Hvitfeld,  I  was  most  cordially  received,  and 
felt  at  home  at  once.  Mr.  Bonaparte,  speaking  excel 
lent  French,  remarked  that  I  must  have  found  the 
Church- here  more  happily  situated  than  in  France;  and 
then,  like  a  loyal  American  citizen,  he  enlarged  upon 
the  good  fortune  of  Catholics  in  the  United  States  in 
enjoying  so  fully  the  blessings  of  liberty.  I  asked  him 
how  to  account  for  the  small  space  allotted  by  Ameri 
can  newspapers  to  religious  events  in  France,  and  for 
the  frequent  errors  to  be  found  in  even  these  slender 
reports.  "  It  is  because  we  cannot  understand  so  bad 
a  condition  of  things,"  he  answered;  "the  situation 

1  Since  this  was  written  Mr.  Bonaparte  has  been  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
by  President  Roosevelt.  —  [PUBRS.] 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  315 

is  incredible  to  us.**  Then  for  a  time  we  talked  of  the 
unfortunate  intermingling  of  religious  and  secular  inter 
ests  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  France ;  a  confusion 
of  two  distinct  spheres  which  both  the  enemies  and  the 
friends  of  the  French  Church  seem  prone  to  create. 
Upon  such  matters  I  found  Mr.  Bonaparte  far  more 
than  ordinarily  well  informed.  "  Here,  too/*  he  said, 
<(  we  have  certain  Catholics  who  seem  disposed  to  bring 
about  just  such  a  condition  as  you  have  in  France.  To 
the  best  of  my  power,  I  am  resisting  them/*  Observ 
ing  my  look  of  astonishment,  he  went  on  :  "  These 
persons  are  eternally  criticising  the  religious  neutrality 
of  our  public  schools ;  forgetting  that  if  these  schools 
were  not  neutral,  they  would  be  Protestant.  You  ask 
for  what  these  malcontents  are  agitating.  They  desire 
that  the  denominational  schools  should  receive  money 
from  the  State  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  pupils 
educated,  or  in  the  form  of  a  proportionate  rebate  in 
the  taxes  paid  by  the  parents  of  such  pupils.  The 
plan  is  not  practical.  We  Catholics  cannot  in  this 
matter  win  public  opinion  to  our  side,  because  in  point 
of  fact  we  should  be  almost  the  only  church  to  profit 
by  such  an  arrangement,  inasmuch  as  we  have  incom 
parably  the  greatest  number  of  religious  schools.  And 
in  this  state  of  affairs,  the  giving  of  public  money, 
however  just  the  grounds  for  it,  would  seem  to  make 
us  a  privileged  class,  and  we  should  incur  widespread 
odium.  We  must  continue  to  make  the  sacrifices  in 
volved  in  supporting  our  parish  schools.  Indeed, 
there  are  other  claims  that  we  could  more  justly  urge. 


316  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

For  example,  in  our  public  institutions  of  charity,  es 
pecially  orphanages,  there  is  not  always  a  fair  propor 
tion  of  Catholic  chaplains  in  comparison  with  the 
number  of  Catholic  inmates.  Here  is  a  case  where 
complaint  would  be  just;  and,  moreover,  it  would  be 
heeded.  No,  no,  we  should  not  criticise  our  lot;  it  is 
a  happy  one,  and  our  effort  should  be  to  maintain  it." 
Again,  let  me  say  that  I  met  other  American  Cath 
olics  who  disagree  with  Mr.  Bonaparte  on  the  school 
question ;  and  certainly  it  is  not  for  a  stranger  to  enter 
into  such  a  discussion.  But  with  France  before  one's 
eyes,  one  finds  it  hard  to  understand  how  any  Catholic 
can  be  discontented  with  the  freedom  of  America. 
Would  that  religious  questions  could  be  kept  forever 
from  the  controversies  of  politics ! 

While  it  is  true  that  the  maintenance  of  parish 
schools  imposes  great  sacrifices  upon  the  Catholic  peo 
ple,  the  higher  educational  institutions,  I  think,  with 
the  exception  of  the  University  at  Washington,  enjoy 
an  income  which  easily  meets  all  expenses.  This  is 
the  case  particularly  with  a  convent  school  which  I 
visited  in  company  with  Cardinal  Gibbons.  Notre 
Dame  of  Maryland  is  located  in  a  charming  site  near 
Baltimore.  Indeed,  looking  at  the  splendid  building 
and  the  beautiful  park,  one  almost  wonders  if  it  is  not 
too  magnificent.  This  school  is  conducted  by  the 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  who  founded  their  first  Ameri 
can  house  in  Baltimore  in  1848.  At  present  the 
sisterhood  possesses  in  the  United  States  three  thou 
sand  religionists  who  are  educating  ninety  thousand 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  317 

pupils  in  two  hundred  and  ninety  establishments.  At 
the  school  I  have  just  mentioned,  there  are  thirty  day 
pupils  and  two  hundred  and  thirty  boarders,  divided 
into  three  departments,  primary,  academic,  and  col 
legiate.  This  last  course  leads  to  the  baccalaureate, 
which  the  school  has  possessed  the  right  to  confer  since 
1876.  Some  of  the  higher  branches  are  taught  by  pro 
fessors  from  Baltimore,  and  the  philosophical  classes 
are  in  charge  of  a  specialist  who  comes  twice  a  week 
from  the  Catholic  University  at  Washington.  I  found 
from  the  programme  of  studies  that  the  Latin  courses 
cover  the  reading  of  Virgil,  Cicero,  Pliny,  Tacitus, 
Horace,  Plautus,  Terence,  and  Juvenal;  that  Greek 
comprises  the  "Iliad,"  "  Crito,"  "Antigone,"  and  the 
"  War  of  the  Peloponnesus  "  ;  and  that  the  last  year  of 
French  includes  "  La  maison  de  Penarvan  "  of  Sandeau ; 
the  "  Question  d'  argent  "  of  the  younger  Dumas ;  Ros 
tand's  "L'aiglon";  and  Rene  Bazin's  "La  tache 
d*  encre."  In  the  preceding  years  of  the  French 
course  are  read  the  ordinary  classical  pieces,  and  such 
works  as  "Mademoiselle  de  la  Seigliere,"  Bourget's 
" Voyageuses,"  and  "Voyage  autour  de  machambre," 
and  "  Cyrano  de  Bergerac."  The  good  Sisters  avoid 
dull  reading,  it  will  be  seen. 

The  tuition  fee  at  Notre  Dame  is  comparatively 
moderate;  $275  a  year.  Certain  special  courses, how 
ever,  call  for  a  considerable  extra  expenditure.  Thus, 
drawing  instruction  costs  $50  a  year;  painting,  |6o; 
piano  and  organ,  $60 ;  the  harp,  $80;  and  stenography, 
^40.  Private  rooms  may  be  had,  with  all  comforts  of 
home,  for  #175  a  year.  I  should  not  be  at  all  sur- 


318  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

prised  if  the  strong-box  of  the  Sister  Procurator  received 
each  year  between  eighty  and  a  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars.  And  inasmuch  as  the  property  is  out  of  debt, 
and  there  are  no  taxes  to  pay,  it  is  clear  that  Notre 
Dame  is  most  happily  prosperous.  Regarding  the 
future  of  certain  religious  establishments,  I  understand 
that  many  bishops,  the  wise  Cardinal  among  them, 
have  less  fear  that  they  will  suffer  from  poverty  than 
from  affluence.  But  there  need  be  no  apprehensions. 
If  ever  riches  should  become  a  danger  of  this  sort, 
doubtless  the  Church  will  provide  all  just  and  neces 
sary  safeguards.  As  yet  there  is  no  such  danger.  This 
very  congregation  of  Notre  Dame,  for  example,  has 
parochial  schools  that  must  be  helped  by  the  surplus 
from  the  academies. 

I  paid  a  visit  to  another  girls'  school  in  Baltimore, 
a  non-religious  institution,  which  receives  only  day 
students.  This  is  the  Bryn  Mawr  School,  not  to  be 
confounded  with  Bryn  Mawr  College,  near  Philadel 
phia,  which  I  afterward  visited.  Bryn  Mawr  School 
was  established  in  1885  ^or  ^ne  secondary  education  of 
girls.  In  1894  a  primary  department  was  added  which 
has  now  eighty  pupils.  The  number  following  the 
secondary  branches  is  one  hundred  and  seventy-five. 
I  listened  to  the  recitations  in  the  different  classes,  and 
remember  particularly  an  admirable  rendering  of  a 
passage  in  the  "^neid."  But  what  struck  me  most  was 
the  manner  in  which  the  youngest  classes  are  taught 
geography.  A  large  surface  of  moist  earth  is  shaped  to 
represent  the  elementary  ideas  of  geography, —  moun 
tain  ranges,  rivers,  lakes,  etc.,  —  and  the  children 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  319 

readily  learn  a  lesson  which  thus  presents  to  them  the 
fascination  of  play.  I  was  much  taken  with  this  idea, 
especially  when  I  recalled  the  tedious  efforts  of  mem 
ory,  in  my  own  school-days,  to  retain  a  number  of 
unusual  and  formidable  phrases.  When  these  rudi 
mentary  notions  are  mastered,  our  little  Americans 
learn  the  various  countries  by  following  on  the  map 
the  journeys  of  explorers  and  men  of  adventure.  In 
one  class,  a  bright  child,  ten  years  old,  narrated  with 
entire  self-possession  and  perfect  accuracy  the  life  of 
Christopher  Columbus ;  pointing  out  on  the  map  the 
Indies  where  he  had  intended  to  go,  the  route  thither 
that  had  been  followed  by  previous  voyagers,  the 
western  route,  which  he  himself  wished  to  take,  and 
finally  the  actual  course  he  pursued  from  the  time  of 
his  departure  from  Europe  to  his  arrival  in  the  New 
World. 

The  tuition  charges  at  Bryn  Mawr  School  are 
from  5590  to  $200  a  year.  This  is  a  high  rate  for  day 
pupils,  but  there  can  be  no  ground  for  complaint,  since 
there  are  free  high  schools  in  abundance,  which  any 
one  may  attend  who  will. 

At  this  school,  all  the  teaching  except  the  manual 
training  is  done  by  women.  The  majority  of  the 
teachers  have  a  bachelor's  degree,  and  two  are  doctors. 
The  head  teacher,  who  took  her  doctorate  at  Bryn 
Mawr  College  and  afterward  attended  some  of  the 
European  universities,  is  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
women  I  have  ever  met.  While  she  was  guiding  me 
through  the  school,  we  talked  on  subjects  suggested 
by  her  recent  visit  to  Paris.  She  told  me  that  she  had 


320  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

held  a  conversation  with  one  of  our  directors  of  public 
instruction,  to  whom  she  expressed  her  astonishment 
that  the  government  was  closing  so  many  schools. 
"His  explanation  was,"  she  continued,  "that  this  was 
done  to  safeguard  liberty.  I  told  him  that  in  America 
liberty  means  allowing  people  to  do  what  they  wish, 
within  the  limits  of  law.  But  I  am  afraid  that  he  and 
I  did  not  understand  one  another." 

Before  I  left  Baltimore,  I  called  at  the  Johns  Hop 
kins  University.  This  institution  was  founded  in  1 876, 
on  a  bequest  of  three  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars, 
left  for  the  purpose  by  a  Baltimore  merchant,  who 
bequeathed  also  over  three  million  for  a  hospital.  I 
will  not  give  details  of  Johns  Hopkins,  lest  I  overdo 
my  descriptions  of  schools  to  the  extent  of  weariness. 
Let  it  suffice  to  say  that  this  University  is  especially 
devoted  to  higher  studies  and  to  independent  research, 
But  even  with  this  restricted  field  of  work,  it  has  so 
developed  that  it  has  outgrown  its  present  quarters  in 
the  centre  of  the  city,  and  is  about  to  move  into  a 
more  commodious  home  which  has  been  given  it  by 
munificent  donors.  Johns  Hopkins  is  not  exclusively 
a  post-graduate  school ;  following  the  common  usage 
in  America,  it  has  also  an  undergraduate  department. 
The  University  statistics  of  1901—1902  show  that  the 
college  courses  were  followed  by  178  students;  while 
in  the  post-graduate  classes  there  were  169.  The 
professional  schools  and  special  classes  count  273 
young  men  as  students  and  38  young  women.  Women 
are  excluded  from  the  other  courses,  which  is  an  ex 
ceptional  restriction.  Some  years  ago,  a  few  students 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  321 

of  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  which  is  near  the  University, 
used  to  attend  special  courses  there,  especially  in 
Oriental  languages.  For  reasons  unknown  to  me,  the 
Superior-General  of  the  Sulpicians  has  forbidden  this 
practice. 


322  IN   THE    LAND    OF 


CHAPTER  XVI 

NATIONAL   FESTIVITIES 

With  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. — An  Impolitic  Major. —  The 
Dedication  of  Sherman's  Statue. —  Splendid  Solemnity. — 
Review. —  Prayer. —  Speeches  of  President  Roosevelt  and 
Four  Generals. —  Too  Long  a  Ceremony. — Archbishop  Ireland. 
—  Military  Soiree. —  The  Banquet  of  the  Four  Armies. — 
Prayer,  Toasts,  and  National  Songs. — At  Washington's 
Tomb. 

the  evening  of  the  fourteenth  of  October,  I 
returned  to  Washington  to  attend  the  ceremonies 
of  the  dedication  of  General  Sherman's  monument. 
On  reaching  Dr.  Stafford's  house,  I  found  that  the 
Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  holding 
its  thirty-first  reunion  directly  across  the  street,  in  a 
Congregational  Church,  which  for  the  time  was  trans 
formed  into  a  public  hall.  We  entered  the  building 
about  nine  o'clock,  just  as  the  first  speech  of  the  eve 
ning  was  concluding.  No  sooner  was  Dr.  Stafford 
recognized  than  we  were  invited  to  the  platform  along 
side  of  I  know  not  how  many  generals.  We  declined 
this  honor,  happily  for  us,  for  we  should  have  had  to 
listen  to  an  address,  a  reading,  and  as  many  as  ten 
"few  remarks,"  to  say  nothing  of  the  music.  Still,  the 
hour  we  spent  there  was  not  wholly  uninteresting.  Of 
course  military  lore  was  uttered  in  abundance,  and  it 
was  very  remarkable  to  notice  how  eagerly  the  people 
listened  to  it  all,  even  though  they  had  heard  it  time 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  323 

after  time  before.  But  this  technical  feature  of  the 
addresses  was  naturally  wearisome  to  me,  who  knew 
nothing  of  fine  strategy  nor  of  the  geography  of  South 
Carolina,  though  there  were  moments  in  which  even  I 
could  find  some  interest.  There  were  also  occasional 
bits  of  humor,  as  the  following  incident  will  illustrate : 
A  venerable  major  was  giving  an  elaborate  military 
speech,  among  his  auditors  numbering  General  Ian 
Hamilton,  one  of  the  British  officers  who  really  dis 
tinguished  themselves  in  the  Transvaal.  Forgetting 
that  this  eminent  soldier  of  King  Edward's  army  was 
sitting  beside  him,  our  eloquent  major  was  comparing 
the  difficulties  encountered  by  the  Northern  armies,  in 
fighting  upon  ground  familiar  to  the  Confederates, 
with  the  difficulties  of  the  English  troops  in  giving 
battle  upon  Boer  territory;  and  at  the  end  of  his  com 
parison  he  declared  in  a  most  positive  manner  that  the 
English  only  half  overcame  this  disadvantage,  and  that 
they  did  even  that  very  slowly,  and  owing  to  great 
superiority  in  numbers.  This  maladresse  was  tactfully 
made  good  by  General  Corbin,  who  referred  to  the 
presence  of  General  Hamilton,  and  extolled  his  mil 
itary  services  amid  great  applause.  The  English 
officer  rose  to  express  his  gratitude,  and  in  a  good 
natured  address  declared,  amidst  the  laughter  of  all 
present,  that  if  "Tommy  Atkins"  had  made  those 
mistakes  he  would  do  better  next  time,  and  mean 
while  he  begged  leave  to  assure  them  that  "Tommy 
Atkins  was  all  right.'1 

"The  chosen  leaders  of  a  mighty  nation  paused  in  their  duties 
of  statecraft  this  afternoon  to  formally  dedicate  to  posterity  the  monu- 


324  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

ment  of  enduring  bronze  and  granite  erected  south  of  the  Treasury 
Building  to  perpetuate  the  name  and  deeds  of  William  Tecumseh 
Sherman,  General  of  the  United  States  Army,  the  first  of  the  great 
commanders  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  to  be  memorialized  in  ever 
lasting  stone  and  metal  in  the  capital  of  the  nation  they  helped 
to  preserve." 

These  are  the  solemn  words  with  which  a 
Washington  newspaper1  begins  its  account  of  the 
dedication  which  I  had  just  attended.  And  the  tone 
of  this  extract  is  none  too  lofty;  for  everyone  admitted 
that  Washington  had  seldom  seen  a  ceremony  more 
impressive. 

The  Sherman  statue  is  sixty-five  feet  high,  and  is 
situated  on  one  of  the  finest  sites  of  the  capital, 
between  the  immense  Treasury  Building  and  the 
White  House  gardens,  and  at  the  extremity  of  the 
beautiful  Pennsylvania  Avenue  along  which  Sherman 
himself,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Civil  War,  led  his 
victorious  army  in  review  before  the  President  and  a 
great  multitude  of  people.  On  the  day  of  the  dedica 
tion  two  hundred  of  Sherman's  veterans  proudly  stood 
guard  around  the  statue  of  their  old  commander;  and, 
as  a  memory  of  still  more  glorious  deeds,  a  regiment 
clad  in  the  Continental  uniform  of  Washington's  day 
held  a  place  of  honor.  In  America,  military  spectacles 
are  rare ;  and  hence  it  was  entirely  out  of  the  ordinary  to 
see  these  thousands  of  soldiers,  representing  all  arms 
of  the  service,  passing  in  review  before  the  Nation's 
chief.  Seated  with  other  distinguished  men,  upon 
great  stands  over  which  floated  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 

lrThe  "Evening  Star"  of  October  15,  1901. 


THE  SHERMAN  STATUE,   WASHINGTON 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  325 

were  many  of  the  survivors  of  the  Civil  War;  on 
one  side  were  the  armies  of  the  Potomac  and  Ohio; 
on  the  other  the  armies  of  the  Tennessee  and  of  the 
Cumberland.  In  the  centre  was  the  presidential  tri 
bune  ;  and  here  were  cabinet  officers,  officers  of  the 
army  and  navy  in  full  uniform,  representatives  of  for 
eign  countries,  and  a  few  specially  favored  guests.  For 
myself,  inasmuch  as  my  friend  Dr.  Stafford  was  to  pro 
nounce  prayer,  and  I  was  with  him,  I  had  a  place  of 
unexpected  prominence.  Dr.  Stafford  was  in  a  small 
circle  of  ten  or  twelve  benches  that  surrounded  Presi 
dent  Roosevelt;  and  I  was  just  outside  these  near 
Archbishop  Ireland,  who  pointed  out  to  me  the  great 
personages  present. 

A  few  minutes  before  the  hour  fixed  for  the  begin 
ning  of  the  ceremonies,  the  bands  struck  up  a  national 
air;  the  President  appeared  at  the  door  of  the  White 
House,  and,  surrounded  by  his  escort,  advanced  to 
the  place  prepared  for  him.  The  review  began  at 
once.  President  Roosevelt  stood  erect,  making  a 
very  martial  figure  himself,  and  thinking,  one  might 
easily  fancy,  of  his  Rough  Riders,  while  before  him 
filed  the  battalions  in  admirable  order,  the  majority 
marching  behind  flags  that  had  been  baptized  with  fire 
in  the  Cuban  war.  There  were  squadrons  of  cavalry, 
batteries  of  artillery,  companies  of  marines,  and  finally 
a  splendid  regiment  of  negroes.  The  review  over, 
General  Dodge,  who  conducted  the  ceremonies,  pre 
sented  Dr.  Stafford  to  make  the  invocation.  The 
great  multitude  stood,  the  men  uncovered  their  heads, 
and  all  listened  reverently  and  in  profound  reflection, 


326  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

to  these  words,  pronounced  in  a  voice  full  of  feeling, 
and  strong  enough  to  be  heard  by  everyone : 

"Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  Father  of  all  nations,  look  down 
upon  us  and  bless  us !  Upon  this  happy  day  we  lift  our  hearts  to 
Thee  in  gratitude.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  unparalleled  progress  of 
more  than  a  hundred  years,  by  which  Thou  hast  distinguished  us 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  We  thank  Thee  for  our  glorious 
history,  our  boundless  resources,  our  riches,  our  treasures,  our  great 
liberty.  We  thank  Thee  that  in  the  hour  of  trial  Thou  didst  raise 
up  able  leaders  for  thy  people,  leaders  who,  by  courage,  ability,  and 
sacrifice,  saved  the  nation.  Give  us  the  grace  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  our  great  men,  not  only  in  monuments  of  stone  and 
brass,  but  still  more  in  our  hearts,  by  the  emulation  of  their  example 
and  the  imitation  of  their  virtues.  By  them  Thou  didst  save  the 
Union, — the  Union  one  and  indissoluble, —  and  by  Thy  protection 
invincible  forever.  Give  us  the  grace,  O  God,  above  all  to  know 
Thee  and  love  Thee  !  " 

When  thus  the  God  of  Nations  had  been  paid  the 
tribute  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  representatives  of 
the  Republic  bespoke  the  people's  admiration  and 
recognition  of  the  man  of  duty  whom  they  had  assem 
bled  to  honor.  General  Dodge  spoke  first  (he  had 
held  command  under  Sherman),  and  explained  the 
monument  in  simple  words.  Sherman's  figure,  he 
said,  represented  him  as  he  stood  in  this  city  and 
viewed  with  loyal  pride  the  last  march  of  his  victorious 
troops.  The  allegorical  figures  of  War  and  Peace 
remind  us  that  the  great  warrior  had  followed  the  one 
in  order  to  establish  the  other.  The  bas-reliefs  picture 
him  in  the  celebrated  "  March  to  the  Sea  "  ;  leading  the 
attacks  on  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta;  and  show  him 
finally  alone  at  night  amid  his  sleeping  army,  ponder- 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  327 

ing  his  plans  of  campaign.  The  medallions  illustrate 
types  of  commanders  and  private  soldiers  in  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee.  The  sculptor,  Carl  Rohl-Smith, 
died  during  the  execution  of  the  work,  and  his  wife 
completed  the  great  task.  General  Dodge  thanked 
the  gifted  woman  amid  long  applause. 

Then  came  the  unveiling.  A  grandson  of  General 
Sherman  gave  a  slight  pull  to  the  rope  which  held  in 
place  the  two  flags  enveloping  the  statue;  the  flags 
slowly  separated,  like  the  opening  of  a  casket  of  jewels ; 
and  there  was  the  great  commander  upon  his  lofty 
pedestal.  Enthusiasm  seized  upon  the  people;  cheers 
loud  and  louder  rent  the  air;  the  two  banners  fell 
gracefully  behind  the  statue  as  drapery,  making  a  beau 
tiful  picture  against  the  blue  sky ;  the  troops  presented 
arms,  cannon  thundered,  and  the  military  bands  made 
the  echoes  ring  with  the  inspiring  strains  of  "  The  Star- 
Spangled  Banner."  The  four  bronze  figures  of  sol 
diers  standing  at  the  angles  of  the  pedestal  were  then 
unveiled;  and  as  the  banners  that  covered  them  were 
withdrawn,  one  could  see  in  the  distance  the  gigantic 
monument  to  Washington.  It  was  a  moment  never 
to  be  forgotten.  One  might  have  thought  that  all  the 
glories  of  America  had  assembled  here  in  the  presence 
of  these  rulers  of  the  Republic,  and  before  God  also 
who  had  just  been  invoked  upon  the  scene.  Then 
President  Roosevelt  stepped  to  the  front  and  told  his 
fellow-citizens  of  the  virtues  that  make  a  great  people. 
He  said  in  part: 

"The  living  can  best  show  their  respect  for  the  memory  of  the 
great  dead  by  the  way  in  which  they  take  to  heart  and  act  upon  the 


328  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

lessons  taught  by  the  lives  which  made  these  dead  men  great.  Our 
homage  to-day  to  the  memory  of  Sherman  comes  from  the  depths  of 
our  being.  We  would  be  unworthy  citizens  did  we  not  feel  profound 
gratitude  toward  him,  and  those  like  him  and  under  him,  who,  when 
the  country  called  in  her  dire  need,  sprang  forward  with  such  gallant 
eagerness  to  answer  that  call.  Their  blood  and  their  toil,  their  endur 
ance  and  patriotism,  have  made  us  and  all  who  come  after  us  forever 
their  debtors.  They  left  us  not  merely  a  reunited  country,  but  a 
country  incalculably  greater  because  of  its  rich  heritage  in  the  deeds 
which  thus  left  it  reunited.  As  a  nation  we  are  the  greater  not  only 
for  the  valor  and  devotion  to  duty  displayed  by  the  men  in  blue  who 
won  in  the  great  struggle  for  the  Union,  but  also  for  the  valor,  and  the 
loyalty  toward  what  they  regarded  as  right,  of  the  men  in  gray;  for 
this  war,  thrice  fortunate  above  all  other  recent  wars  in  its  outcome, 
left  to  all  of  us  the  right  of  brotherhood  alike  with  valiant  victor  and 
valiant  vanquished. 

"  Moreover,  our  homage  must  not  only  find  expression  on  our 
lips ;  it  must  also  show  itself  forth  in  our  deeds.  It  is  a  great  and 
glorious  thing  for  a  nation  to  be  stirred  to  present  triumph  by  the 
splendid  memories  of  triumphs  in  the  past.  But  it  is  a  shameful 
thing  for  a  nation,  if  these  memories  stir  it  only  to  empty  boastings, 
to  a  pride  that  does  not  shrink  from  present  abasement,  to  that  self- 
satisfaction  which  accepts  the  high  resolve  and  unbending  effort  of 
the  father  as  an  excuse  for  effortless  ease  or  wrongly  directed  effort  in 
the  son.  We  of  the  present,  if  we  are  true  to  the  past,  must  show 
by  our  lives  that  we  have  learned  aright  the  lessons  taught  by  the  men 
who  did  the  mighty  deeds  of  the  past ;  we  must  have  in  us  the 
spirit  which  made  the  men  of  the  Civil  War  what  they  were;  the 
spirit  which  produced  leaders  such  as  Sherman ;  the  spirit  which 
gave  to  the  average  soldier  the  grim  tenacity  and  resourcefulness 
that  made  the  armies  of  Grant  and  Sherman  as  formidable  fighting 
machines  as  this  world  has  ever  seen.  We  need  their  ruggedness 
of  body,  their  keen  and  vigorous  minds,  and,  above  all,  their  domi 
nant  quality  of  forceful  character.  Their  lives  teach  us  in  our  own 
lives  to  strive  after,  not  the  thing  which  is  merely  pleasant,  but 
the  thing  which  it  is  our  duty  to  do.  The  life  of  duty,  not  the  life 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  329 

of  mere  case  or  mere  pleasure,  that  is  the  kind  of  life  which  makes 
the  great  man  as  it  makes  the  great  nation. 

"  So  much  for  our  duties  in  keeping  unstained  the  honor-roll  our 
fathers  made  in  war.  It  is  of  even  more  instant  need  that  we  should 
show  their  spirit  of  patriotism  in  the  affairs  of  peace.  The  duties  of 
peace  are  with  us  always ;  those  of  war  are  but  occasional ;  and  with 
a  nation,  as  with  a  man,  the  worthiness  of  life  depends  upon  the  way 
in  which  the  every-day  duties  are  done.  To  very  few  in  any  genera 
tion  is  it  given  to  render  such  services  as  he  rendered;  but  each  of  us 
in  his  degree  can  try  to  show  something  of  those  qualities  of  character 
upon  which,  in  their  sum,  the  high  worth  of  Sherman  rested, —  his 
courage,  his  kindliness,  his  clean  and  simple  living,  his  sturdy  good 
sense,  his  manliness  and  tenderness  in  the  intimate  relations  of  life, 
and  finally  his  inflexible  rectitude  of  soul,  and  his  loyalty  to  all  that 
in  this  free  Republic  is  hallowed  and  symbolized  by  the  national  flag." 

Having  listened  to  President  Roosevelt,  I  under 
stood  how  it  is  that  his  discourses,  admirable  specimens 
of  oratory  that  depend  on  the  occasion  for  their  inspir 
ation,  exercise  so  great  an  influence  upon  his  audiences. 
Absolutely  careless  of  the  artistic  side  of  public  speak 
ing,  and  perhaps  for  that  very  reason  a  genuine  artist, 
he  appears  preoccupied  with  this  one  purpose, —  to 
drive  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  listeners  the 
sentiments  and  ideas  which  he  thinks  will  make  them 
better  men  and  better  citizens.  What  cares  he  that 
his  language  is  homely  and  his  thought  repeated? 
What  is  it  to  him  that  he  utters  no  striking  novelties? 
He  is  original  enough  in  conceiving  clearly,  expressing 
simply,  and  urging  intensely  truths  that  are  easy  to 
know  and  easy  also  to  neglect.  When  he  speaks,  you 
must  pay  attention ;  indeed,  it  is  physically  impossible 
not  to  pay  attention.  In  the  abrupt  and  sincere  tones 
of  his  robust  voice,  in  the  changing  emotions  of  his 


330  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

mobile  countenance,  in  the  expressive  energy  of  his 
gestures,  there  is  a  vital  power  that  carries  one  on  as 
though  one  were  riding  on  the  breast  of  a  torrent.  I 
stood  somewhat  behind  him,  a  little  to  his  left,  and 
still  I  missed  scarcely  a  single  play  of  his  features,  so 
thoroughly  does  he  take  in  his  entire  audience  and 
address  himself  to  every  person  in  it.  Whether 
President  Roosevelt  is  a  great  writer  or  not,  he  is 
assuredly  a  great  orator. 

When  the  President  had  finished,  the  most  inter 
esting  features  of  the  celebration  were  at  an  end.  Still, 
four  other  speakers  followed  him,  representing  the 
four  great  divisions  of  the  Union  armies  in  the  Civil 
War.  But  it  took  courage  in  them  to  deliver  orations 
before  the  great  crowd,  who  were  now  fatigued  and 
rapidly  melting  away.  Moreover,  it  was  difficult  to 
hear,  on  account  of  the  murmur  of  the  thousands  of 
people  and  the  blare  of  distant  bands  accompanying 
the  troops  to  their  quarters.  Still,  the  old  generals, 
brave  on  the  rostrum  as  once  on  the  battle-field,  held 
grimly  to  their  task,  thinking  perhaps  of  their  past 
career,  when  the  enemy  fled  before  them.  When  the 
flood  of  oratory  at  last  receded,  there  remained  before 
the  stand  only  a  few  officials  and  a  small  group  of 
heroic  guests.  Only  the  imploring  gestures  of  Arch 
bishop  Ireland  kept  me  on  the  spot;  for  I  could  hear 
scarcely  anything,  save  now  and  then  the  name  of  some 
unfamiliar  battle,  and  an  occasional  "  I  remember." 
The  number  of  facts  that  these  men  could  recall  at  a 
distance  of  forty  years  was  incredible.  At  last  came 
the  cool  of  evening, —  not  a  bad  symbol  of  this  part 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  331 

of  the  performance ;  and  I  found  a  welcome  distraction 
in  watching  the  President  helping  an  old  secretary  on 
with  his  overcoat.  My  last  resource  was  to  ask  Mrs. 
Corbin,  wife  of  the  General,  to  present  me  to  General 
Ian  Hamilton ;  and  we  had  a  good  laugh  together  over 
the  incident  of  the  previous  evening. 

When  I  read,  in  the  next  morning's  newspapers, 
the  speeches  of  the  four  generals^  I  confess  I  repented 
of  my  irreverence  in  not  having  listened  to  them  more 
closely.  And  doubtless  if  my  readers  were  aware  how 
excellent  these  speeches  were,  they  would  add  their 
reproaches  to  my  remorse.  General  Henderson,  for 
example,  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  delivered  no 
ordinary  address.  "God  is  a  nation-maker,"  he  said; 
and  then  he  admirably  analyzed,  in  the  manner  of  a 
philosopher,  historian,  and  poet,  the  elements  that 
make  up  a  great  State.  The  other  discourses,  too,  were 
well  worth  reading.  But  the  ceremony  was  too  long 
to  continue  solemn.  Solemn,  however,  was  its  end 
ing,  when  the  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Washington,  Dr. 
Henry  Satterlee,  rose  to  pronounce  a  brief  bene 
diction.  Those  left  on  the  scene  stood  with  bared 
heads,  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  among  the  rest, 
and  listened  reverently  to  the  words  with  which 
Religion  closed  the  day. 

An  hour  later,  I  was  dining  with  Archbishop  Ire 
land  at  the  hotel  where  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
to  hold  a  reception.  "  Come,"  said  the  Archbishop, 
"  you  shall  put  me  au  courant  with  this  movement;  and 
I  will  introduce  you  to  our  veterans."  The  move- 


332  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

ment  referred  to  was  the  present  condition  of  intellec 
tual  life  and  of  Christian  apologetics  in  Europe.  I  had 
no  notes  to  consult  before  talking  on  this  subject  with 
His  Grace;  but  I  primed  myself  as  best  I  could,  and 
naively  hoped  that  I  might  contribute  something  to 
the  information  of  a  prelate  who  had  just  come  from  a 
six  months'  episcopal  journey  in  Minnesota.  But  I 
found  that  he  had  read  everything  that  I  had  read,  and 
had  followed  certain  controversies  more  keenly  than  I. 
This  gave  me  a  new  glimpse  of  the  Archbishop  of  St. 
Paul,  and  one,  if  anything,  more  to  be  admired  than 
even  the  man  of  public  action.  I  did  not  attempt  to 
conceal  my  surprise.  "In  aspiration,"  he  said,  "  I  am 
a  scholar.  My  dream  is  to  study ;  but  I  have  no 
time."  Then  he  spoke  to  me  of  his  seminary,  of 
books,  of  courses  of  study,  of  professors,  with  a  knowl 
edge  and  critical  appreciation  which  reminded  me  of 
his  old  friend  the  Bishop  of  Rochester.  In  philosophy, 
in  Biblical  science,  and  in  theology,  Archbishop  Ire 
land  is  at  once  a  man  of  deep  faith  and  of  sharp  dis 
cernment.  He  combines  the  mind  of  a  student  with 
the  talent  for  practical  affairs. 

Our  discussion  almost  made  us  forget  our  engage 
ment.  We  were  forced  to  leave  these  serene  regions  of 
thought,  —  serene,  indeed,  no  longer,  —  and  be  off  to 
the  reception.  Once  there,  the  Archbishop  became 
again  the  old  chaplain  of  the  Fifth  Minnesota  Volun 
teers.  Former  companions  in  arms  thronged  around 
him,  and  they  dwelt  on  reminiscences  of  which  I  knew 
nothing.  What  I  do  know  is  that  never  in  my  life  had 
I  met  so  many  generals  and  colonels,  —  for  there 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  333 

were  some  who  were  modest  enough  to  remain 
colonels. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac,  whose  reception  we 
were  attending,  resolved  for  this  night  to  form  a  junc 
tion  with  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  which  was 
bivouacked  at  another  hotel.  So,  about  half-past  nine, 
to  the  strains  of  martial  music,  off  we  set,  marching  two 
by  two,  as  solemnly  as  you  please.  Archbishop  Ire 
land  and  an  old  officer  headed  the  line,  setting  the 
step  for  us  and  looking  positively  war-like.  The  other 
veterans  followed,  many  accompanied  by  their  wives 
and  daughters,  and  others  carrying,  instead  of  arms, 
prosaic  umbrellas.  Dr.  Stafford,  who  had  joined  us 
as  we  left  the  hotel,  carried  a  cane,  and  made  so  fine  a 
figure  that  I  was  proud  to  march  beside  him.  He  and 
I  were  the  youngest  of  the  army,  both  of  us  having 
been  born  when  the  valiant  men  around  us  were  in  the 
midst  of  their  campaigns.  On  we  went,  and  not  even 
torn-up  streets  could  halt  us,  for  we  had  only  to  take 
to  the  sidewalks.  And  what  simpler  tactics  are  pos 
sible  for  passing  through  barricaded  streets  ?  So,  in  a 
word,  having  managed  our  night  march  in  admirable 
order,  we  joined  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  at  ten 
o'clock  without  the  loss  of  a  man  —  or  woman. 

If  the  sense  of  military  fraternity  had  not  gone 
deep  into  my  soul,  I  should  certainly,  as  one  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  have  been  jealous  of  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee,  for  their  reception  was  far  more 
brilliant  than  ours,  and  its  glory  owed  little  to  us. 
The  'elite  of  Washington  was  there;  and  what  with 
the  beauty  of  the  flowers,  the  splendor  of  the 


334  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

illumination,  the  magnificence  of  the  ladies'  costumes, 
and  the  loveliness  of  those  who  wore  them,  one  found 
it  hard  to  believe  it  a  reception  of  "  veterans."  Arch 
bishop  Ireland  and  Dr.  Stafford  were  the  most  sought- 
after  among  the  guests.  The  Archbishop,  in  fine  spirits 
and  full  of  vivacity,  proudly  wore  his  military  medal. 
The  Doctor  was  surrounded  by  people  of  all  stations, 
who  congratulated  and  thanked  him  for  his  beautiful 
invocation.  "You  are  a  great  American,"  they  said  to 
him;  and  this  was  praise  supreme.  In  the  course 
of  a  pleasant  conversation,  the  President  of  the  Com 
missioners  of  the  District  of  Columbia  said  to  me, — 
and  his  words  show  the  prestige  of  the  pastor  of  St. 
Patrick's, — "  I  beg  you  to  consider  me  entirely  at  your 
service  in  regard  to  anything  that  you  may  wish  to 
examine  during  your  stay  in  Washington.  But  you 
will  have  little  need  of  me,  I  apprehend;  a  friend  of 
Dr.  Stafford  is  in  touch  with  the  highest  sources 
of  influence."  In  America  there  is  no  prejudice  which 
stands  in  the  way  of  a  priest's  occupying  any  place  in 
public  esteem  for  which  his  personal  merit  fits  him. 

Of  this  I  had  a  new  proof  on  the  very  next 
evening,  at  a  banquet  of  five  hundred  covers,  given 
by  the  united  societies  of  the  four  Armies,  at  the 
Hotel  Arlington.  The  great  dining-hall  was  superbly 
decorated  with  flags,  flowers,  and  garlands  of  oak- 
leaves.  General  Brooks,  Captain  McCook,  and  Major 
McElroy  gave  the  toasts  to  the  Armies  of  the  Po 
tomac,  of  the  Cumberland,  and  of  the  Ohio.  The 
widow  of  General  Logan  also  spoke,  and  was  applauded 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  335 

vigorously.  But  the  triumph  of  the  evening  was 
reserved  for  one  who  spoke  for  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee.  Indescribable  enthusiasm  seized  on  the 
assemblage  when  it  was  announced  that  this  speech 
would  be  delivered  by  Father  Thomas  E.  Sherman ; 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  his  remarks  the  ovation  lasted 
over  five  minutes.  Not  that  Father  Sherman  was 
more  eloquent  than  the  other  speakers,  but  for  those 
brave  men,  he  was  the  son  of  their  glorious  leader; 
and  not  one  of  them  dreamed  of  asking — as  perhaps 
in  days  gone  by  would  have  been  done — whether  it 
was  proper  thus  to  acclaim  a  Catholic  priest  and  a 
Jesuit. 

These  men  were  far  from  regarding  the  clerical 
garb  as  a  mark  of  inferiority.  Before  they  sat  down 
to  table  they  asked  Archbishop  Ireland  to  invoke  the 
blessing  of  God ;  and  while  they  listened  in  perfect 
silence,  he  said: 

"  Our  Father  who  art  in  Heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name:  Thy 
kingdom  come  :  Thy  will  be  done. 

* '  Master  and  Sovereign  Thou  art  of  earth  and  of  skies,  of  men 
and  of  nations;  we  bow  before  Thee  in  homage  and  in  supplication. 

"We  adore  Thee,  O  God;  into  Thy  hands  we  commit  our 
selves,  we,  Thy  creatures,  Thy  children.  Be  Thy  law  the  con 
stant  guidance  of  our  footsteps ;  Thy  love,  the  constant  inspiration 
of  our  thoughts  and  of  our  acts. 

"From  Thee  all  blessings  flow.  Be  Thou  ever,  we  beseech 
Thee,  our  protector,  our  Father.  Favor  us  with  health  and  strength 
of  soul,  with  health  and  strength  of  body ;  be  Thy  right  hand 
extended  over  us  in  mercy  and  in  grace. 

"  Favor,  we  beseech  Thee,  our  country  !  Grant  it  peace  and 
prosperity ;  endow  its  rulers  with  wisdom,  its  defenders  with  valor, 
all  its  people  with  truth  and  righteousness. 


336  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

"  Favor,  O  Lord,  America  with  permanency  in  its  liberties,  and 
in  its  Union  of  States  with  permanency  with  the  social  and  national 
blessings  for  the  upbuilding  of  which,  during  days  of  dreaded  trial 
and  suffering,  its  faithful  sons  made  upon  the  sacred  altars  of  patriot 
ism  willing  oblation  of  the  life-blood  of  their  hearts. 

"Under  Thy  gracious  providence  we  have  survived  wearying 
marches  and  death-dealing  battles.  In  our  own  name,  in  the  name 
of  our  departed  friends  and  fellow-soldiers,  whose  spirits  we  know 
mingle  with  ours  this  evening  in  our  brotherly  festivities,  we  beseech 
Thee,  bless  the  Republic  of  the  United  States. 

"  O  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  Thee  we  adore,  Thee 
we  praise:  Thine  the  blessing  we  invoke." 

Interspersed  among  the  patriotic  addresses  was  the 
singing  of  national  hymns,  the  words  of  which  had 
been  distributed  to  the  guests.  They  sang  "  Columbia, 
the  Gem  of  the  Ocean,"  "The  Star-Spangled  Banner," 
"Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp-Ground,"  "Marching 
through  Georgia,"  with  its  electrifying  words,  "Hur 
rah  !  Hurrah  !  the  flag  that  makes  us  free  !  "  But 
the  most  beautiful  of  all,  to  my  mind,  was  "The  Bat 
tle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,"  beginning,  "Mine  eyes 
have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord." 
Perhaps  equal  to  this  are  the  two  short  stanzas  of 
"America,"  the  country's  national  hymn. 

It  was  with  these  strains  ringing  in  my  ears,  that  I 
fell  asleep  on  my  last  night  in  the  capital  of  the  United 
States.  But  memory  and  imagination  transported 
me  far  from  the  Arlington  banquet-hall.  On  that 
very  day  I  had  made  my  pilgrimage  to  Mount  Ver- 
non,  and  there  beheld,  amid  trees  a  century  old,  and 
situated  in  a  broad  expanse  of  field  and  meadow  that 
slopes  to  the  Potomac,  the  home  of  the  founder  of 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  337 

the  Republic.  The  rooms  in  which  he  lived  and  the 
chamber  where  he  died  are  still  piously  cared  for,  and 
contain  many  souvenirs  of  his  life, —  for  example,  the 
key  of  the  Bastille,  which  was  Lafayette's  happy  and 
appropriate  gift  to  his  old  commander.  I  gazed  long  on 
the  tomb,  majestic  in  its  simplicity,  on  which  they  have 
done  well  in  inscribing  but  one  word,  WASHINGTON. 
"The  renown  of  Washington,"  says  Chateaubriand, 
comparing  the  work  of  this  great  man  with  that  of 
Napoleon,  "will  spread  from  age  to  age,  synonymous 
with  liberty,  and  his  name  will  mark  the  opening  of  a 
new  era  for  mankind." 


338  IN    THE    LAND    OF 


CHAPTER    XVII 

PHILADELPHIA 

Departure  from  Washington. —  A  Notable  City  ;  Philadelphia. — 
Historic  Memories. —  Independence  Hall. —  Ecclesiastical 
Reunion. —  Parochial  Finances. —  Influence  of  Ireland  on 
Catholicism  in  the  United  States. — Archbishop  Ryan. — 
Indian  Commission. — An  Anti-Clerical  Foundation;  Girard 
College. —  Central  High  School  of  Philadelphia. —  Univer 
sity  of  Pennsylvania. —  Principal  Gifts  Received  by  the 
Educational  Institutions  in  One  Tear. — A  Great  College  for 
Women:  Bryn  Mawr. — Always  Tolerant. — "Remain  in 
America." 

1X7 E  must  now  turn  our  steps  eastward, —  this  time 
not  to  retrace  them,  as  after  our  brief  visit  to 
Baltimore;  this  departure  is  final.  I  leave  Washing 
ton  on  one  of  those  rainy  days  which  I  have  rarely 
met  with  on  my  journey.  There  was  nothing  to  be 
seen,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  see  anything.  Travelling 
as  I  am  doing,  on  the  train,  Baltimore  does  not  interest 
me.  I  think  of  St.  Patrick's  rectory,  the  Capitol,  the 
White  House;  but  here  the  train,  which  slackens  its 
speed,  dispels  my  reverie.  On  a  narrow  bridge,  of 
impressive  length,  we  cross  the  Susquehanna  at  its 
entrance  into  Chesapeake  Bay.  The  river  seems  as 
still  as  a  lake,  reflecting  the  wooded  slopes.  Resting 
on  the  window-sill,  I  could  believe  myself  alone  in  the 
desert.  Notwithstanding  the  iron  arches  supporting 
us,  which,  however,  I  do  not  see,  Nature  appears  as 
grand,  as  primitive,  as  she  was  three  hundred  years 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  339 

ago.  The  eastern  part  of  America  cannot  pass  as  one 
of  the  most  picturesque  countries  of  the  world;  never 
theless,  it  has  its  enormous  rivers  and  wild  forests.  It 
is  to  these  rivers,  so  broad  in  comparison  to  their 
length,  and  usually  ending  in  vast  bays,  that  this  sec 
tion  is  mainly  indebted  for  its  good  fortune.  The 
Hudson  made  New  York;  the  Susquehanna,  Balti 
more;  the  Delaware,  Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia :  two  centuries  of  existence,  a  million 
and  a  half  of  inhabitants.  It  is  true  that  Chicago,  less 
than  half  as  old,  has  a  third  more  than  that  number. 
But  Philadelphia  has  grown  normally  ;  it  has  its  history 
and  its  traditions ;  it  prides  itself  on  its  good  manners 
and  even  on  its  nobility.  It  manufactures  carpets, 
wool,  sugar,  iron,  locomotives ;  its  three  hundred 
thousand  workmen  are  engaged  in  manufactures  which 
are  valued  at  six  hundred  millions  of  dollars  annually; 
seven  thousand  vessels  enter  its  port  each  year.  But 
it  is  a  great  deal  less  proud  of  all  this  than  of  its  science, 
its  distinction,  its  beauty,  its  great  memorials.  Other 
cities  are  upstarts;  Philadelphia  "has  arrived." 

It  is  called  the  city  of  homes,  because  it  counts  as 
many  houses  as  families.  The  average  number  resid 
ing  in  each  house  is  less  than  six.  Little  or  big,  each 
family  has  its  own  home,  ordinarily  two  stories  of  red 
brick  with  white  marble  steps.  The  result  is  some 
what  monotonous ;  but  in  the  principal  streets  and 
avenues  there  is  a  charming  diversity  of  picturesque 
villas.  Yet  Americans,  so  they  say  in  Europe,  are  people 
who  ignore  the  comforts  of  home  and  live  at  hotels. 

Philadelphia  is  not  lacking  in   business    quarters 


340  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

On  the  contrary,  they  are  most  important ;  and  I  again 
discover,  without  enthusiasm,  the  high  buildings  which 
Washington  made  me  forget,  the  real  "mammoths" 
of  the  trust  companies,  the  stores  with  four  thousand 
employees.  Almost  in  the  centre  stands  the  City  Hall, 
as  large  as  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  with  a  tower  over  five 
hundred  feet  high,  surmounted  by  the  colossal  statue 
of  William  Penn.  The  City  Hall  was  begun  in  1874; 
it  contains  750  rooms,  is  built  of  marble  and  granite 
in  the  style  of  the  French  Renaissance,  and  cost  twenty- 
five  millions  of  dollars.  To  its  richness  and  gigantic 
proportions,  however,  I  prefer  the  modest  edifice  of 
brick,  built  in  1732  to  serve  as  a  State  House,  and  now 
bearing  the  name  of  Independence  Hall.  Here  from 
1775  to  1781  sat  the  Continental  Congress,  which  was 
the  soul  of  the  American  Revolution;  here,  on  the 
never-to-be-forgotten  date  of  July  4,  1776,  was  signed 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Here,  again,  No 
vember  3,  1781,  as  I  read  with  pride  on  the  com 
memorative  inscriptions,  the  twenty-four  standards 
taken  from  the  British  at  Yorktown  were  "laid  at  the 
feet  of  Congress  and  of  the  Ambassador  of  France." 
Here,  September  17,  1787,  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  was  adopted  and  signed.  Washington, 
in  1793,  and  John  Adams,  in  1797,  were  here  installed 
as  Presidents  of  the  Republic.  How  could  I  behold 
without  emotion  the  actual  table  on  which  the  dele 
gates  of  the  different  States  signed  the  Declaration  of 
Independence;  how  keep  from  thinking  of  the  im 
petus  given  to  the  progress  of  mankind  by  that  declar 
ation,  when  we  look  upon  the  famous  Liberty  Bell, 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  341 

which  was  the  first  to  announce  that  great  act?  I  have 
brought  home  from  my  travels  in  America  but  one 
material  souvenir;  it  is  a  medal  of  bronze,  which  re 
produces  the  bell  with  its  inscription  :  "  Proclaim  liberty 
throughout  the  land  unto  all  the  inhabitants/'  Ring 
on,  O  bell  of  liberty !  It  is  not  enough  that  America 
has  heard  you.  Ring  for  those  who  remain  oppressed 
in  the  world.  Ring  for  the  nation  which  hastened  so 
generously  at  your  call, —  that  at  your  sound  the  repre 
sentatives  of  France  may  remember  how  in  former 
times  the  liberated  peoples  laid  their  trophies  before 
her! 

What  changes  have  taken  place  within  two  centu 
ries,  since  William  Penn  received  upon  these  shores 
the  first  colony  of  Quakers !  That  very  grave  and 
simple  sect  still  prospers  at  Philadelphia,  and  many 
other  Protestant  Churches  have  taken  their  place  beside 
it;  but  no  religious  body  has  developed  like  the  Cath 
olics,  who  number  a  quarter  of  the  population.  They 
have  475,000  souls  in  the  diocese,  374  secular  and  103 
regular  priests,  106  seminarians,  98  Brothers  of  the 
Christian  Schools,  2,135  nuns  distributed  into  nineteen 
congregations.  Without  speaking  of  the  seven  col 
leges,  and  of  the  two  industrial  schools  which  belong 
to  them,  they  care  for  3,213  children  in  their  orphan 
ages  and  45,353  in  their  parochial  schools.  In  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  itself  there  are  eighty-four  par 
ishes  —  fourteen  more  than  there  are  in  Paris.  And 
what  activity  in  each !  I  stayed  at  the  rectory  of  Our 
Lady  of  Mercy  in  North  Broad  Street.  The  parish, 


342  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

which  has  not  yet  been  fifteen  years  established,  has 
one  of  the  most  artistic  and  devotional  churches  im 
aginable,  a  rectory  sufficiently  large  and  comfortable,  a 
school  where  the  sisters  instruct  510  children.  The 
entire  plant  cost  about  three  million.  In  America,  as 
soon  as  they  build  a  new  city,  or  a  new  quarter  in  an 
old  city,  or  even  when  a  parish  has  grown  too  populous 
for  its  pastor,  the  bishop  picks  out  a  young  priest  and 
assigns  to  him  as  a  special  field  of  action  such  and  such 
a  territory.  "You  are  pastor  of  such  a  district,  or 
from  such  to  such  a  street.  Go  and  do  your  best." 
There  is  no  question  of  either  building  or  money ;  he 
must  provide  them.  In  a  few  years  everything  is 
established,  organized,  almost  paid  for;  the  bishop  can 
come  to  consecrate  the  church,  to  bless  the  school,  to 
congratulate  the  pastor  and  his  parishioners.  One  can 
divine  how  active  the  priest  must  be,  and  on  what  good 
terms  with  his  parishioners,  in  order  to  accomplish  such 
a  task. 

It  is  not  my  host,  Father  Coghlan,  who  would  have 
been  found  wanting  in  such  a  duty.  He  received  me 
on  a  Saturday,  the  eve  of  the  installation  of  the  new 
organ.  The  rectory  and  the  parish  were  full  of  activity. 
I  have  never  seen  such  a  busy  hive.  There  was  some 
question  of  the  success  of  a  sacred  concert  to  be  given 
on  the  following  evening,  for  the  honor  of  the  parish 
and  for  the  payment  of  the  remainder  of  the  ten  thou 
sand  dollars  which  the  organ  cost.  Tickets  were  sold 
at  a  dollar  each ;  even  those  who  could  not  assist  at  the 
recital  gave  their  offering,  and  many  paid  twice,  three 
times,  or  ten  times  the  price  of  admission.  After  all 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  343 

expenses  were  paid,  the  entertainment  brought  in  a 
thousand  dollars ;  the  society  that  was  formed  to  look 
after  the  organ  could  not  complain.  From  noon  Sat 
urday,  the  hour  of  my  arrival,  till  midnight  Sunday, 
the  pastor,  his  assistants,  his  newly  ordained  nephew, 
and  his  niece  who  acts  as  his  accountant,  have  not 
a  minute's  rest.  I  ask  myself  how  they  can  stand  such 
a  life.  They  cannot  endure  it  always;  Monday  morn 
ing,  Father  Coghlan  is  obliged  to  take  to  bed  imme 
diately  after  his  mass.  Bear  in  mind  that  this  material 
work  did  not  prevent  the  priests  from  being  called  four 
times  every  hour  in  the  parlor  or  in  the  confessional. 
The  niece  is  the  least  to  be  pitied  :  she  can  in  peace 
attend  to  her  heaps  of  tickets  and  dollars. 

Everyone  found  the  concert  superb.  If  I  say 
nothing  about  it,  it  is  solely  because  of  my  incompe 
tence.  I  could  have  wished  this  to  be  admitted  by 
Father  Coghlan,  who  so  frequently  asked  for  my  appre 
ciation  of  each  piece  rendered  by  the  organ  and  of  each 
solo.  Notwithstanding  all  my  good-will,  he  must  have 
thought  my  English  was  lacking  in  richness  and  pre 
cision. 

It  is  a  shame,  but  I  acknowledge  that  I  took  more 
interest  in  the  dinner  of  my  confreres  which  preceded 
the  musical  fete.  A  dozen  of  the  prominent  pastors 
of  Philadelphia  were  there ;  one  of  whom  had  just 
been  appointed,  under  the  circumstances  already  men 
tioned,  to  establish  a  new  parish.  Nearly  all  had  been 
to  France  several  times,  which  presupposes  a  broad 
mind  and  a  full  pocket.  The  salary  which  they  receive 
for  their  work  is  (all  expenses  paid  save  clothing  and 


344  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

board)  eight  hundred  dollars  a  year,  not  counting  a 
chance  of  four  or  five  hundred  more  which  may  fall  in 
their  way.  The  salary  of  the  assistants  is  six  hundred 
dollars.  It  is  the  same  in  the  diocese  of  New  York. 
In  Baltimore,  the  pastor's  salary  is  a  thousand  dollars.1 
Evidently  this  affords  a  comfortable  living ;  but 
they  do  not  hoard  up  their  money,  nor  do  they  mind 
any  very  heavy  expenses.  It  is  somewhat  as  it  is  in 
Ireland:  the  faithful  see  that  their  priests  want  for 
nothing,  knowing  that  they  may  have  recourse  to  them 
in  all  their  necessities.  The  income  of  the  parishes 
is  derived  principally  from  the  annual  renting  of  the 
pews  and  from  the  Sunday  collections.  The  property 
and  the  administration  of  the  funds  belong  to  the 
parish,  considered  as  a  civil  body  and  represented  by 
the  trustees  of  the  church,  of  which  the  pastor  is  the 
principal  member ;  the  bishop,  president  ex-qfficio 
choosing  the  others  according  as  he  wills.  In  some 
provinces,  the  diocese  itself  is  the  administrative  body 
represented  by  the  bishop  alone,  and  in  each  parish  he 
delegates  his  powers  to  the  pastor  and  two  parishioners. 
The  two  systems  in  the  end  amount  to  the  same,  and 
leave  the  spiritual  rulers  complete  masters  of  the  ad 
ministration  of  temporal  affairs.  In  order  to  come  to 
this,  it  was  necessary  in  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century  to  contend  strenuously  against  the  system  of 
lay  trustees  of  the  parish.  But  the  present  system 

1  The  Protestant  pastors  receive  in  general  two  or  three  times  as  much  as  the 
Catholic  priests.  According  to  Mr.  Bryce  ("  The  American  Commonwealth," 
French  edition,  t.  IV.,  p.  472),  the  Presbyterian  and  Congregationalist  ministers  are 
the  best  paid  ;  in  the  large  cities,  they  receive  between  $8,000  and  $15,000. 

This  is  much  beyond  the  fact.  $5,000  would  be  out  of  the  common,  and 
$10,000  remarkably  high. —  [PuBRS.] 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  345 

operates  without  difficulty,  and  the  faithful  content 
themselves  with  the  exact  and  complete  account  ren 
dered  every  year  of  the  use  made  of  the  funds. 

Since  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  Church  of  France, 
after  some  years  of  strife  and  groping,  may  finish  at 
last  by  adopting  a  similar  system,  it  will  not  be  without 
interest  to  read  what  one  of  the  most  prominent  bishops 
of  America,  better  known  for  the  wisdom  of  his  admin 
istration  than  for  the  boldness  of  his  views,  thought  of 
this  system.  This  is  what  Mgr.  Corrigan,  Archbishop 
of  New  York,  wrote  to  Vicomte  de  Meaux,  when  send 
ing  him  the  reports  of  the  receipts  and  expenses  of 
several  parishes : 

"We  depend  for  our  daily  bread,  from  week  to  week,  upon  the 
charity  of  the  faithful.  Up  to  the  present,  the  Providence  of  God 
and  the  generosity  of  the  people  have  never  failed  us.  The  system 
has  its  advantages  without  doubt,  but  it  is  precarious.  Its  great 
advantage,  to  my  mind,  is  that  it  closely  unites  the  priest  and  the 
people.  Thanks  to  this,  all  take  an  interest  in  the  progress  of  religion. 
When  a  man  makes  sacrifices  for  his  religion,  he  becomes  attached 
to  it,  he  is  more  disposed  to  conform  his  life  to  it.  From  this  point 
of  view,  our  system  is  incontestably  good.  Moreover,  it  makes  the 
clergy,  up  to  a  certain  point,  dependent  upon  the  people,  and  from 
this  a  new  bond  is  formed  between  them.  There  results  from  this  a 
spiritual  good  for  the  priests ;  they  become  more  circumspect  and 
more  attentive  to  those  from  whom  they  receive  their  subsistence. 
We  are  absolutely  free  as  regards  the  government,  and  consequently 
nothing  prevents  us  from  giving  our  undivided  care  to  the  health  of 
the  souls  of  our  flock."  * 

In  endeavoring  to  explain  the  sentiments  of  Catho 
lics  toward  their  priests,  we  alluded,  a  moment  ago,  to 

1  "  L'£glise  Catholique  et  la  liberte  aux  Etats-Unis,"  p.  251. 


346  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

the  custom  in  Ireland.  In  giving  more  consideration 
to  the  comparison,  and,  properly  speaking,  in  making 
it  bear  upon  nearly  all  points,  we  may  perhaps  attain 
the  secret  of  the  actual  prosperity  of  the  American 
Church,  of  its  generosity,  its  fervor,  the  reciprocal  devo 
tion  of  all  the  faithful  and  the  clergy.  Without  slight 
ing  the  great  services  it  has  received  from  the  French 
clergy,  above  all  in  the  beginning,  and  until  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  it  can  be  said  that  the  Amer 
ican  Church  is  essentially  an  Irish  Church.  Many  of 
its  priests  were  born  in  Ireland ;  many  are  the  sons  of 
Irish.  It  is  from  Ireland  also  that  have  come  the  large 
majority  of  the  faithful ;  and  if  other  countries,  like 
Germany,  Italy,  Austria,  send  to-day  a  greater  num 
ber  of  emigrants,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  they 
are  received  and  establish  themselves  in  communities 
already  existing.  Now,  the  character  of  these  is  built 
upon  Irish  zeal  and  American  patriotism.  They  have 
kept  the  enthusiasm  of  heart  of  the  land  of  their  birth, 
and  have  joined  to  it,  if  not  yet  all  the  independence,  at 
least  the  practical  sense,  of  the  land  of  their  adoption. 
My  twelve  Philadelphia  pastors  all  spoke  of  Ireland 
as  one  speaks  of  the  Fatherland.  In  the  toasts  which 
they  gave  me  at  the  end  of  the  dinner,  I,  as  a  French 
man,  was  saluted  as  a  Celtic  brother.  I  responded 
by  promising  to  bring  to  the  elders  of  the  family  the 
good  wishes  of  the  youngest,  and  above  all  the  report 
of  their  success.  At  the  moment  of  parting,  Father 
Coghlan,  who  is  uprightness  and  goodness  itself,  could 
not  help  saying  that  he  loved  me  very  much  just  as  I 
was,  but  that  he  would  have  thought  a  great  deal  more 


ARCHBISHOP  RYAN 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  347 

of  me  if  he  had  not  detected  in  some  of  my  utterances 
some  sympathy  for  England. 

It  was  not  until  the  last  day  of  my  stay  that  I  was 
able  to  go  to  see  Mgr.  Ryan,  the  Archbishop  of  Phila 
delphia,  and  his  auxiliary,  Mgr.  Prendergast.  The 
latter  is  the  only  vicar-general  of  Philadelphia.  In  his 
house  was  held  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  administra 
tion  of  the  "Catholic  Standard  and  Times."  This 
journal  is  issued  only  weekly,  as  are  all  the  other 
religious  papers  of  the  United  States ;  and  the  reader 
has  not  forgotten  what  Cardinal  Gibbons  thinks  of 
this.  The  "Catholic  Standard"  supports  itself.  I  do 
not  think,  at  this  distance,  it  will  be  betraying  the  secrets 
of  the  meeting  if  I  mention  that  at  the  end  of  the 
session  a  pretty  substantial  dividend  was  declared. 

At  the  end  of  the  council,  in  which  he  has  a  delib 
erative  voice,  Father  Coghlan  brought  me  to  the  Arch 
bishop's  house.  Mgr.  Ryan  enjoys  a  great  reputation 
as  an  orator,  and  he  is  known  for  the  broadness  of  his 
views.  In  summing  up  the  speech  made  by  him  at 
the  centenary  of  the  foundation  of  the  Catholic  hierar 
chy,  in  1889,  M.  de  Meaux  shows  that  the  Archbishop 
attributes  the  progress  of  the  Church  in  America,  "to 
God  first,  next  to  his  ministers,  then  to  the  free  insti 
tutions  of  the  United  States."  According  to  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Philadelphia,  it  is  the  Catholics  who  have 
profited  most  by  religious  liberty ;  he  claims  for  them 
the  honor  of  having  inaugurated  it  in  Maryland,1  and 

1  He  could  have  added  that  the  first  Governor  of  New  York  to  establish  tolerance 
was  a  Catholic,  Thomas  Dollyan  (1683)5  ^  ls  *rue  'c  was  at  a  time  when  it  was 
especially  profitable  to  his  co-religionists,  who  were  numerically  few. 


348  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

he  thanks  the  Quakers  for  having  established  it  in 
Pennsylvania.  Without  denying  that  at  other  times 
and  in  other  countries  the  union  of  the  Church  and 
State  was  salutary  as  well  as  legitimate,  he  thinks  that 
in  the  American  Constitution  there  is  no  arrangement 
more  beneficial  than  the  one  which  separates  them. 
"Under  this  form  of  government,"  to  quote  him 
exactly,  "the  Church  has  called  forth  all  the  virtues 
and  all  the  natural  faculties  of  man  to  the  defence  of 
supernatural  truths ;  and  if  at  times,  in  the  struggle 
between  conflicting  beliefs,  it  happens  that  faithful 
Christians  venture  beyond  due  bounds,  better,  after  all, 
liberty  with  mistakes  than  servitude  with  abasement."1 
I  had  not  time  to  submit  such  great  questions  to 
the  venerable  and  most  benevolent  Archbishop.  The 
conversation  turned  on  the  Indian  Commission,  of 
which  he  is  a  member.  The  ten  persons  of  which 
this  commission  is  composed  are  chosen  by  the  Presi 
dent  from  the  most  esteemed  and  independent  citizens 
of  the  Republic.  It  has  for  its  mission  to  watch  over 
the  Indians,  so  that  in  their  reserves  they  may  be  gov 
erned  with  justice  and  intelligently  protected.  The 
annual  report,  which  Mgr.  Ryan  gave  me,  discusses 
all  their  needs,  material  and  moral ;  it  makes  known 
in  detail  what  has  been  overlooked,  what  has  been 
done,  what  ought  to  be  done,  in  their  interest.  It 
considers  everything,  from  the  curriculum  of  their 
schools  to  the  irrigation  of  their  territory,  from  the 
industrial  instruction  to  the  regulating  of  their  social 

1  Vicomte  de  Meaux,  "L'figlise  Catholique  et  la  liberte  aux  £tats-Unis,"  pp.  3 
and  4. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  349 

states,  especially  in  regard  to  marriage.  It  recom 
mends  in  particular  the  complete  abandonment  of  the 
system  of  "rations,"  which  consisted  in  making  pro 
vision  for  all  the  essential  needs  of  the  Indians,  even 
those  in  good  health,  and  which  naturally  had  the 
effect  of  making  them  lazy  in  the  extreme.  Mgr.  Ryan 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Indian  Commission  since 
the  1 4th  of  April,  1902,  —  the  date  on  which  he  was 
named  by  President  Roosevelt  to  replace  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Whipple,  Anglican  Bishop  of  Minnesota,  who  had  died 
some  months  before.  The  nomination  of  a  Catholic 
prelate  to  succeed  a  Protestant  raised  a  storm  of  oppo 
sition  in  a  few  of  the  daily  papers.  It  cannot  be  said 
that  the  President  of  the  Republic  did  not  pay  any 
attention  to  their  opposition,  for,  another  vacancy 
occurring  a  short  time  afterward,  he  further  affirmed 
his  right  and  his  independence  by  appointing  a  promi 
nent  Catholic  layman,  Mr.  Charles  Bonaparte. 

Philadelphia  is  not  less  remarkable  than  Boston  for 
the  development  of  its  schools,  colleges,  and  univer 
sities.  The  Drexel  Institute,  founded  by  A.  J.  Drexel, 
in  1891,  at  a  cost  of  two  millions  of  dollars,  has  pre 
pared  more  than  2,000  students  for  industrial  careers. 
Girard  College  must  be  the  richest  orphanage  in  the 
world.  The  Frenchman  whose  name  it  bears,  and  who 
died  at  Philadelphia  in  1831,  bequeathed  the  sum  of 
two  millions  of  dollars  for  the  care  of  "poor  white  male 
orphans,"  and  other  benefactors  have  raised  that  sum 
to  twenty  millions.  Girard  having  placed  the  condition 
that  no  ministers  of  any  denomination  should  cross  the 


350  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

threshold  of  his  orphanage,  the  authorities  hesitated  to 
accept  such  a  foundation ;  but,  having  finally  decided 
to  accept  it,  they  have  done  their  best  to  observe  the 
clause  of  the  will;  they  have  built  a  chapel  in  the 
orphanage  where  only  laymen  are  allowed  to  hold 
services,  and  the  children  go  outside  to  fulfil  their 
other  religious  duties.  With  the  official  letter  of  Mr. 
Harris,  to  be  admitted  I  would  only  have  had  to  sub 
stitute  a  cravat  for  my  Roman  collar ;  but  it  seemed  to 
me  better  to  respect  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Girard.  More 
over,  other  institutions,  not  less  interesting,  remained  to 
occupy  my  time,  notably  the  Central  High  School,  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Bryn  Mawr  College. 
The  Central  high  school  of  Philadelphia  is  cer 
tainly  the  most  important  high  school  that  I  have 
visited.  Looking  at  its  catalogue  and  the  quality  of 
its  teaching,  it  differs  from  other  colleges  only  by  this 
point  of  superiority,  that  it  is  absolutely  free  and  open 
to  all  children  of  the  elementary  schools,  whether  pub 
lic  or  private,  who  have  successfully  passed  the  impar 
tial  entrance  examination.  It  costs  the  city  $123,590 
yearly.  There  are  fifty-four  professors  for  1,470 
scholars,  who  are  all  externs.  Students  are  admitted 
at  the  average  age  of  fifteen,  but  can  present  them 
selves  for  examination  at  thirteen.  The  five-year 
course  leads  to  the  degrees  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  and 
Bachelor  of  Sciences.  Two  additional  years,  and  the 
submission  of  a  written  thesis,  merit  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts.  The  students  have  their  choice  of 
four  departments  :  classics,  sciences,  modern  languages, 
commerce.  But  certain  branches  of  general  learning 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  351 

are  common  to  all  the  departments  ;  Latin,  for  instance, 
is  obligatory  for  four  years  in  the  first  two  depart 
ments,  for  two  years  in  the  department  of  modern 
languages,  and  for  one  year  in  the  commercial  depart 
ment.  The  programme  of  studies  in  the  last  depart 
ment  seemed  significant  to  me;  the  seven  branches 
which  it  comprises  are,  in  the  order  given  by  the 
catalogue,  English  language  and  literature,  foreign 
languages,  mathematics,  history,  physical  and  natural 
sciences,  political  economy,  and  technology.  Here, 
almost  word  for  word,  are  the  remarkable  instructions 
given  to  the  professors  on  the  spirit  of  their  teaching 
work : 

"The  end  to  be  kept  in  view  in  the  commercial  department  is, 
above  all,  educational.  It  is  not  a  simple  business  school ;  and  mat 
ters  of  technique,  in  the  measure  that  they  must  be  introduced,  should 
hold  a  subordinate  place.  The  pupils  should,  first  of  all,  be  instructed 
to  think,  and  to  think  with  care,  prudence,  and  rapidity,  on  the  mat 
ter  submitted  to  them.  Even  the  programme  of  studies  should  show 
the  importance  of  a  liberal  education  in  business  affairs.  A  knowledge 
of  literature,  languages,  history,  mathematics,  sciences,  economics,  is 
also  useful  in  commercial  affairs,  and  gives  to  the  one  who  possesses  it 
superiority  both  as  a  man  and  a  merchant.  It  is  not  a  question  here 
of  the  formation  of  a  thorough  business  man,  but  of  a  man  so  devel 
oped  that  he  can  rapidly  acquire  a  knowledge  of  any  business  affairs 
in  which  he  may  become  interested,  and  thereby  be  enabled  to  make 
a  success  of  it." 

They  did  not  put  at  the  head  of  the  Central  High 
School  a  great  merchant,  but  a  writer  who  is  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  moralists  in  the  United  States. 
Apart  from  those  very  rare  qualities  which  attest  his 
works,  I  appreciated  the  very  astonishing  precision 


352  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

with  which,  in  less  than  an  hour,  seeing  that  I  was 
pressed  for  time,  he  showed  me  his  splendid  school 
and  explained  all  its  workings. 

I  remained  longer  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  where  they  had  the  kindness  to  give  me  as  a 
guide  the  professor  of  French  literature,  an  amiable 
compatriot.  What  information  shall  I  choose  from 
all  that  I  found  in  the  236  pages  of  the  printed  report 
and  the  annual  catalogue  of  530  pages?  The  Univer 
sity  prides  itself  on  being  able  to  go  back  to  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  on  owing  its 
existence  to  the  "propositions  of  Franklin"  relative  to 
the  education  of  the  youth  of  Pennsylvania.  Nothing 
is  wanting  to-day  in  its  organization,  either  in  the 
intellectual,  moral,  or  material  order.  Excepting  the 
ology,  there  is  no  branch  of  human  learning  that  is 
not  taught  in  its  358  courses,  pursued  by  its  2,583 
students.  Of  these,  1,113  follow  the  college  classes, 
where,  in  addition  to  the  classic  and  scientific 
courses,  they  study  architecture,  mechanics,  elec 
tricity,  and  all  branches  of  engineering.  The  gradu 
ates  number  179  in  philosophy  (that  is  to  say, 
in  the  faculty  of  letters),  386  in  law,  542  in  medicine, 
14  in  hygiene,  365  in  dentistry,  78  in  veterinary 
surgery.  As  far  as  the  number  of  students  goes,  there 
is  nothing  to  surprise  us;  but  the  resources  of  all 
kinds  surpass  our  imagination,  and  when  we  think  how 
each  year  sees  the  buildings,  museums,  libraries, 
laboratories,  multiplied,  together  with  all  that  can 
make  the  young  folks  attached  to  university  life, — 
pleasant  and  inexpensive  apartments,  comfortable 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  353 

restaurants,  the  free  enjoyment  of  the  amusement  hall, 
the  swimming  pools  and  gymnasiums, —  one  asks  if 
it  is  not  at  immense  cost  that  the  formation  of  an 
American  is  completed.  Nevertheless,  this  formation 
costs  the  public  treasury  but  little.  Some  of  the 
universities  are  maintained  by  the  State,  but  most  of 
them  are  largely  self-supporting  by  reason  of  the  par 
ticular  endowments  which  they  continually  receive. 
Since  we  are  speaking  of  these  extraordinary  gifts,  it 
will  perhaps  be  of  interest  to  give  some  precise  figures 
concerning  them;  and  that  we  may  not  be  accused  of 
choosing  an  exceptional  period,  let  us  simply  take  the 
accounts  of  1901-1902,  the  last  scholastic  year  the 
complete  accounts  of  which  have  been  published  at 
the  time  I  write. 

Outside  of  the  revenues  from  its  real  estate  and 
that  received  for  tuition,  the  University  of  Pennsyl 
vania  has  received  from  gifts  alone,  during  this  period, 
the  sum  of  1936,851.65,  to  which  must  be  added  the 
reliable  promise  of  a  citizen,  Mr.  Joseph  Warton,  to 
increase  the  foundation  already  made  by  him  to  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  half  of  $93 6,851, 
already  paid,  has  been  bequeathed  by  one  man,  Mr. 
Joseph  Bennett.  But  what  seems  to  us  more 
characteristic  is  that  the  other  half  has  been  given 
in  relatively  small  sums  by  more  than  four  hundred 
voluntary  subscribers.  The  Dean,  in  his  report,  is 
right  in  insisting  upon  the  evident  proof  of  the  devo 
tion  of  Americans  to  the  cause  of  education,  and  on 
the  responsibility  that  rests  .on  the  educators  of  so 
generous  a  nation. 


354  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

The  University  of  Pennsylvania,  although  one  of 
the  best  endowed  of  American  universities,  is  by  no 
means  an  exception.  In  1902,  Mrs.  Jane  L.  Stanford 
transferred  by  deed  to  the  Stanford  University  of  Cali 
fornia  thirty  millions  of  dollars  in  bonds,  stocks,  and 
real  estate.  Mr.  Carnegie  gave  ten  millions  of  dollars 
to  the  Institute  which  bears  his  name,  a  hundred  thou 
sand  to  the  College  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
a  hundred  thousand  to  the  Institute  of  Technology 
of  Hoboken,  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Rockefeller  has  given 
1 1, 2 50,000  to  the  University  of  Chicago,  already 
enriched  by  his  gifts;  #250,000  to  Bryn  Mawr  Col 
lege;  #200,000  to  Oberlin  College  in  Ohio;  #140,000 
to  Wellesley  College  in  Massachusetts.  Having  offered 
a  million  dollars  to  Harvard  if  the  friends  of  the 
University  would  add  #500,000,  he  thus  brought  a 
benefactress,  Mrs.  C.  P.  Huntington,  to  offer  #250,000 
alone.  The  "  Petroleum  King  "  amuses  himself  with 
this  kind  of  matches,  at  once  reasonable  and  very 
profitable.  As  he  had  promised  to  give  #200,000  to 
Barnard  College  if  they  would  find  as  much  elsewhere, 
it  happened  that  they  collected  a  surplus  of  #50,000, 
so  he  very  graciously  added  the  same  amount,  and  the 
College  drew  out  of  the  transaction  with  #500,000, 
Many  institutions  have  received  from  divers  subscribers 
between  a  hundred  thousand  and  a  million  dollars.  The 
settlement  of  the  Fayerweather  will  has  distributed 
#300,000  to  Yale,  #200,000  to  Columbia,  as  much  to 
Cornell,  and  $100,000  each  to  ten  other  colleges 
or  universities,  without  counting  some  bequests  of 
#50,000;  and  when  all  is  settled  they  calculate  that 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  355 

$  1 50,000  will  still  remain  for  each  of  the  establish 
ments  named,  and  in  addition  to  this,  $  1,22 5,000  to 
be  divided  amongst  thirty  other  institutions,  the 
majority  being  schools  devoted  to  the  education  of 
women.  Before  ending  this  list,  enough  to  dazzle 
Europeans,  I  wish  to  note  the  gift  of  $200,000 
donated  by  an  American  woman  of  Paris  to  the  Uni 
versity  of  Chicago  to  establish  there  a  French  course 
of  Pedagogy;  $450,000  destined  by  Mrs.  Anna 
Eliza  Walsh  of  Brooklyn  for  the  education  of  Catholic 
priests;  and  $250,000  offered  anonymously  to  Cooper 
Union  Institute.  Anonymous  gifts  are  still  quite  fre 
quent  in  the  lists  I  have  before  me,  but  ordinarily  they 
do  not  attain  to  these  proportions. 

One  of  the  most  favored  colleges  is  Bryn  Mawr, 
where  I  ask  the  reader  to  follow  me  before  we  leave 
Pennsylvania.  Beside  the  $250,000  already  mentioned, 
given  by  Mr.  Rockefeller,  and  the  $22,630  given  by 
its  alumnae,  it  received  in  1902  nine  subscriptions  of 
$10,000,  one  of  $8,000,  and  fourteen  of  $5,000,  mak 
ing  the  total  for  one  year  alone  $526,000.  This,  in 
addition  to  the  $160,000  paid  in  by  the  students, 
enables  the  college  to  meet  the  expenses,  make  gratui 
tous  loans  to  needy  students,  spend  $4,000  annually  on 
books,  subscribe  to  332  reviews,  keep  its  laboratories 
and  equipments  abreast  of  all  discoveries,  and  erect 
new  buildings,  each  one  finer  than  the  last.  In  the 
United  States,  there  is  a  general  tendency  to  reproduce 
the  best  style  of  the  English  Renaissance  in  the  col 
leges  and  universities,  the  ideal  being  to  have  amidst 


356  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

green  lawns  and  large  trees  a  city  of  feudal  castles  and 
cottages  covered  with  ivy.  Nowhere  have  we  seen  this 
excellent  style  produce  a  more  beautiful  effect  than  at 
Bryn  Mawr;  and  when  I  drove  there,  after  having 
passed  through  Fairmount  Park  and  the  rich  country 
which  is  called  the  Garden  of  Pennsylvania,  it  seemed 
to  me  that  I  had  been  suddenly  transported  to  Oxford, 
to  the  almost  sacred  garden  of  New  College,  the  walks 
of  Magdalen,  the  meadows  of  Christ  Church. 

In  the  absence  of  the  President,  Father  Coghlan's 
nephew  and  myself  were  received  by  the  young  secre 
tary,  a  former  student;  if  her  companions  are  equally 
simple,  energetic,  intelligent,  and  amiable,  it  speaks 
well  for  the  educational  training  of  Bryn  Mawr.  She 
showed  us  the  library,  the  study  halls,  the  grand  hall, 
the  dormitories,  with  dining-rooms,  parlors,  and  bed 
rooms  fully  furnished.  This  recalled  Trinity  College, 
though  things  were  on  a  much  larger  scale.  I  remarked 
this  to  our  guide,  who  answered,  "  I  am  delighted 
with  the  resemblance,  but  I  am  not  surprised ;  the  nuns 
of  Trinity  College  came  here  to  study  our  system." 

The  students  of  Bryn  Mawr  are  divided  into  three 
classes, — graduates,  undergraduates,  and  auditors.  The 
graduate  students  are  admitted  only  after  having  re 
ceived  a  degree  from  some  recognized  college.  On 
the  completion  of  their  studies,  they  obtain  the  degree 
of  Mistress  of  Arts  or  Doctor  of  Philosophy.  In  the 
college  year  1900-1901,  there  were  49  students  of  this 
class.  Amongst  them  must  be  distinguished  the  Fel 
lows,  numbering  n,  who  by  their  attainments  have 
gained  scholarships  worth  $525  a  year.  The  under- 


THE    STRENUOUS   LIFE  357 

graduates,  who  numbered  349  in  1901,  have  to  pass 
an  entrance  examination  in  algebra,  plane  geometry, 
Latin,  history,  English  composition,  physical  sciences, 
and  two  of  three  languages  —  French,  German,  Greek. 
The  baccalaureates  for  which  they  prepare  are  equiva 
lent  to  ours.  The  auditors  are  not  matriculated,  and, 
strictly  speaking,  have  not  the  right  to  be  called  stu 
dents  of  Bryn  Mawr.  They  must  be  at  least  twenty- 
five  years  of  age.  There  are  no  precise  rules  for  them ; 
they  are  received  and  allowed  to  remain  only  if  they 
prove  themselves  capable  of  profiting  by  the  course; 
special  certificates  may  be  given  them  by  their  pro 
fessors,  but  they  are  excluded  from  the  degrees.  It  is 
a  very  sensible  and  practical  way  of  making  the  higher 
education  accessible  to  serious-minded  women  whose 
early  studies  have  not  been  directed  according  to  the 
programme.  Their  work  is  necessarily  disinterested, 
since  it  does  not  lead  to  any  official  degree.  It  is  not  the 
same  with  the  other  students,  who,  though  they  may 
seek  learning  for  learning's  sake,  do  not  ignore  the  fact 
that  a  degree  of  Bryn  Mawr,  justly  esteemed  through 
out  America,  assures  them  of  success  in  that  career  of 
teaching  which  is  growing  more  important  every  day, 
and  which  is  deservedly  remunerative. 

Religion  has  its  place  in  this  great  college,  as  it  has 
everywhere.  Every  morning  they  have  prayers  in 
chapel,  and  every  Wednesday  evening  services  in 
which  the  ministers  of  different  Protestant  denomina 
tions  preach  alternately.  The  Catholics  do  not  share 
in  this  communism.  None  of  these  exercises  are  ob 
ligatory.  On  Sunday,  the  house  carriages  take  the 


358  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

students  to  the  churches  of  their  choice.  There  are 
all  sorts  of  churches  in  the  neighborhood,  and  fifteen 
minutes  on  the  train  will  bring  one  to  Philadelphia. 
People  can  live  like  good  neighbors  without  even 
thinking  of  religious  differences ;  tolerating  the  beliefs 
of  others  is  not  abdicating  one's  own.  I  was  told  that 
some  years  ago  Mgr.  Keane  was  invited  to  give  a 
religious  discourse  at  Harvard  University.  When 
thanking  him,  President  Eliot  recalled  that  in  former 
times  an  eccentric  benefactor  had  left  funds  providing 
that  each  year  there  might  be  a  conference  on  the 
abominations  of  Popery,  and  offered  to  have  the  Arch 
bishop  lecture  on  the  subject.  He  laughingly  declined, 
and  told  the  president  to  call  on  Archbishop  Ryan, 
who  was  a  specialist  in  that  matter. 

Our  visit  to  Bryn  Mawr  ended  with  a  drive  in  the 
park.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon.  The  students 
were  playing  tennis,  foot-ball,  and  cricket.  They 
seemed  to  suffer  but  little  from  poor  living  or  nervous 
ness.  If  it  was  not  really  here,  it  was  surely  in  some 
similar  institution  that  M.  Doumic,  led  by  some  happy 
chance  to  the  United  States,  saw  a  number  of  young 
girls  engaged  in  a  vigorous  game  of  ball,  and  began  to 
understand  "what  a  small  thing  a  man  is."  At  the 
same  time  that  their  healthy  appearance  recalled  this  jest 
of  a  writer  who  can  certainly  not  be  called  an  American 
ist,  the  absence  of  care  on  their  joyous  faces  made  me 
think  of  what  La  Bruyere  said:  "I  should  like  to  be 
a  girl,  and  a  pretty  one,  from  my  thirteenth  to  my 
twenty-second  year;  and  after  that,  to  become  a  man." 
Nowhere  would  such  a  wish  seem  more  sensible  than 


Copyright,  Kern  Bros.,  New  York 


ARCHBISHOP  KEANE 


THE    STRENUOUS    LIFE  359 

in  the  English-speaking  countries,  where,  in  contrast 
to  our  custom,  young  girls  are  much  more  free  than 
married  women. 

We  left  for  Philadelphia  at  sunset.  The  soft  light 
of  an  October  evening  clothed  with  a  poetic  glow  the 
lingering  green  of  the  fields,  the  red-leaved  forests,  the 
valleys,  slopes,  and  river  of  Fairmount  Park.  It  grew 
still  more  beautiful  with  the  appearance  of  the  first 
stars.  Notwithstanding  the  coolness  of  the  evening, 
I  was  delighted  that  the  carnage  went  so  slowly.  I 
love  the  scenery  of  America,  for  even  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  cities  it  retains  something  of  primeval  sim 
plicity.  It  is  somewhat  like  the  inhabitants,  so  simple 
and  at  the  same  time  so  cultured,  so  progressive,  so 
unaffected.  With  the  young  priest  who  accompanied 
me,  I  had  a  heart-to-heart  talk.  What  freedom  of 
spirit,  and  yet  what  candor!  What  serenity  in  the 
possession  of  truth,  and  what  ignoring  of  difficulties ! 
What  confidence  in  the  worth  of  action,  in  the  good 
will  of  every  man  he  met !  What  faith  in  his  country 
and  in  his  Church!  I  encouraged  him  in  this 
optimism,  but  nevertheless  I  could  not  conceal  from 
him  that  in  our  older  countries  everything  does  not  go 
so  easily.  He  asked  me  why,  and  I  gave  him  some 
reasons,  which  made  him  sad.  "If  I  were  in  your 
place,"  said  he,  by  way  of  conclusion,  "  I  would  stay 
in  America." 

The  next  day  I  went  to  New  York,  whence  the 
steamer  sails  for  France. 


360  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

CHAPTER    XVIII 
LAST    DAYS    IN    NEW   YORK 

Saint  Sulpice  in  the  United  States. —  Tuxedo  Park. —  The 
Integrity  of  Politicians. —  McClellan  and  Seth  Low. — 
Municipal  Elections.  —  New  York  by  Noon,  Evening, 
Night. —  The  Star-Spangled  Banner  in  the  Sky. —  The 
International  Catholic  Truth  Society. — Episcopalian  Clergy 
men. —  The  "  North  American  Review" — The  Hour  of 
Parting. —  At  Saint  Paul's. —  On  the  "Lorraine" — 
"  Sweet  Land  of  Liberty." 

T  HAD  intended  to  spend  my  last  few  days  in  New 
York  divided  between  the  Dunwoodie  Seminary 
and  the  Paulists'  House;  for  from  both  places  came 
most  hospitable  invitations.  But  I  found  that  to  make 
the  seminary  my  headquarters  would  mean  spending 
half  my  time  on  the  cars  whenever  I  went  to  visit  the 
city ;  so  I  remained  at  Dunwoodie  but  a  couple  of  days. 
It  was  with  real  regret  that  I  gave  up  the  company  of 
Sulpicians,  who,  as  I  have  already  noted  with  regard 
to  their  seminary  in  Baltimore,  know  so  well  how  to 
combine  the  advantages  of  both  French  and  American 
methods  of  training.  Their  traditions  of  learning  and 
of  solid  piety  are  here  embodied  in  the  Superior  Father, 
James  Dryscoll,  one  of  my  old  fellow-students  at  Paris ; 
in  Father  Bruneau,  a  great  French  exegete ;  in  fact,  in 
all  the  professors  with  whom  I  came  in  contact.  The 
magnificently  constructed  Dunwoodie  Seminary  might 
well  recall  the  Sulpician  Institution  at  Issy  near  Paris, 
if  it  were  situated  elsewhere  than  in  the  heart  of  the 


THE   STRENUOUS  LIFE  361 

open  country,  near  Yonkers.  As  in  external  likeness, 
so  in  the  spirit  ot  the  institution,  the  resemblance  at  first 
sight  is  so  great  that  one  seems  to  be  back  again  in 
France.  But  upon  a  closer  observation,  many  differ 
ences  are  noted,  a  natural  consequence  of  the  change  of 
environment.  For  example,  how  surprised  our  semi 
narians  would  be  if  they  could  see  the  gymnasium,  with 
its  complete  equipment  of  all  that  pertains  to  physical 
development;  or  the  lecture-rooms,  where  the  lead 
ing  reviews,  periodicals,  and  newspapers  can  be  freely 
consulted ;  or  the  manner  in  which  the  American  stu 
dents  indulge  in  their  favorite  sports. 

I  made  no  inquiry  as  to  the  curriculum ;  but  to 
judge  from  the  programmes  and  the  authors,  there 
was  no  great  difference  between  it  and  those  in 
France.  Nevertheless  be  it  said,  without  the  least 
wish  to  reflect  on  the  traditional  spirit  from  which  they 
receive  their  inspiration,  that  the  topics  are  very  well 
adapted  to  present  needs.  In  the  second  year  of  the 
course  in  philosophy,  for  example,  I  was  well  pleased  to 
see  the  studies  indicated  in  these  terms  :  "  Origin  of  the 
Universe;  Spontaneous  Generation;  The  Materialistic 
View  of  Life ;  Periodic  Evolution ;  Transformation ; 
Descent  of  Man ;  Monistic  Evolution;  Is  Evolution 
Admissible?  Distinction  between  Man  and  Brute." 

The  seminary  comprises  158  students,  of  which 
140  belong  to  the  diocese  of  New  York.  The  diocese 
of  Brooklyn  has  a  seminary  apart,  with  forty-five  stu 
dents.  From  an  outsider's  point  of  view,  I  feel  inclined 
to  believe  that  a  concentration  of  the  resources  of  both 
dioceses  would  be  in  the  nature  of  an  improvement. 


362  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

After  two  days  taken  up  by  visits  to  and  from  New 
York,  I  finally  returned  to  the  Paulists'  House.  The 
reader  will  perhaps  remember  my  surprise  and  edifica 
tion  at  the  austerity  of  their  monastery.  I  think  it 
must  have  been  due  to  my  many  and  varied  experi 
ences  in  the  interval  that  at  the  time  of  this  second 
visit  I  was  in  nowise  dismayed.  Father  Elliott  was 
at  Washington,  but  I  found  Father  Doyle  and  other 
friends.  I  became  well  acquainted  with  Father  Burke, 
editor  of  "  The  Catholic  World,"  and  with  Father 
MacMillan,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  parish  schools; 
and  I  learned  to  appreciate  Father  Hughes,  the  Assist 
ant  Superior,  whose  fine  reserve  and  retiring  disposition 
had  at  first  somewhat  intimidated  me.  But  the  one 
who  made  the  deepest  impression  on  me  was  the  Supe 
rior  of  the  Congregation,  Father  Deshon,  whom  I  had 
not  met  before.  Sole  survivor  of  the  first  companions 
of  Father  Hecker,  he  was  full  of  reminiscences  of  the 
pious  founder.  He  was  over  eighty;  tall  and  slender, 
with  a  flowing  beard,  and  seemed  to  be  the  perfect 
type  of  one  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Desert.  It  is  one 
of  my  happiest  memories  to  have  known  this  patriarch, 
and  to  have  been  treated  as  a  son  by  him.  He  died 
several  months  after  my  departure  for  Europe.  He 
has  been  succeeded  in  his  office  of  Superior  General 
of  the  Paulists  by  the  Very  Rev.  George  M.  Searle, 
Ph.D.,  a  distinguished  mathematician  and  specialist  in 
astronomy,  but  still  more  remarkable  for  his  apostolic 
zeal  and  eloquence.1 

1  See  a  sketch  published  in   "  The  Catholic  World,"  August,  1904. 


THE   STRENUOUS  LIFE  363 

At  Tuxedo  Park,  thirty-eight  miles  from  New 
York  City,  reside  friends  whom  I  knew  in  Switzer 
land,  a  country  which,  as  we  all  know,  is  as  accessible 
to  Americans  as  to  Frenchmen.  My  visit  was  made 
chiefly  for  the  sake  of  my  friends,  but  also  on  account 
of  the  renowned  beauty  of  their  dwelling-place.  To 
find  the  forest  of  Fontainebleau  fifteen  leagues  from 
Paris,  is  no  more  agreeable  a  surprise  than  to  see  so 
close  to  New  York  a  vast  stretch  of  rocky  hills  and 
woods,  which  are  at  times  separated  by  narrow  valleys, 
lakes,  and  rivers.  This  is  Orange  County.  The 
larger  part  of  this  picturesque  region  has  been  acquired, 
and  is  inhabited  by,  a  small  select  circle  of  about  four 
hundred  members,  known  as  the  Tuxedo  Park  Associa 
tion;  and  they  exclude  from  their  neighborhood  all 
those  who  do  not  belong  to  their  world.  Each  one 
retains,  no  doubt,  the  right  to  cede  or  to  sell  the 
portion  of  land  belonging  to  him;  but  he  can  dispose 
of  it  only  to  persons  agreeable  to  the  whole  group. 
To  live  on  the  territory  of  the  park  without  being 
admitted  to  its  society,  to  which  all  the  members 
belong,  would  be  worse  than  being  boycotted;  for 
you  could  then  meet  absolutely  no  one,  and  I  know 
not  if  even  the  privilege  of  the  roads  would  be  granted. 
"It  is  the  only  way,"  said  my  host,  "of  assuring  the 
respectability  of  our  milieu,  and  also  of  living  apart 
from  Israel."  There  exists  in  the  United  States  no 
anti-Semitic  agitation  of  a  political  nature ;  but  socially 
the  Jews  are  kept  alone  even  more  strictly  than  in  the 
Old  World.  If  it  is  not  democratic,  the  creation  of 
Tuxedo  Park  reveals  at  least  the  possession  of  excel- 


364  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

lent  taste  on  the  part  of  its  owners.  A  retreat  more 
peaceful  and  inspiring  can  scarcely  be  imagined.  The 
villas  are  designed  in  sober,  rustic  style,  and  all  are 
different  in  construction.  Everywhere  the  trees  of  the 
park  have  been  respected,  except  where  it  has  been 
found  necessary  to  hew  out  thickets  which  were  too 
dense,  and  to  open  up  new  vistas.  The  houses,  nest 
ling  some  distance  from  the  road,  leave  the  solitude 
unbroken.  The  cottage  of  my  friends  is  a  marvel  of 
luxurious  simplicity.  Marie  Antoinette  could  not 
have  dreamed  of  a  more  comfortable  chaumiere.  The 
walk  which  we  took  in  the  beginning  of  the  afternoon, 
along  the  lakes,  reminded  me  in  more  than  one  respect 
of  the  Haute  Engadine.  Although  on  the  horizon 
one  discerns  no  snow-capped  summits,  the  paths  bor 
dering  the  water,  and  these  climbing  the  rocky  heights, 
gave  to  the  scenery  a  certain  Alpine  note.  It  is  true 
that  the  mountain  heights  reveal  to  the  view  no 
glaciers;  but  from  the  level  of  the  valleys  the  eyes 
can  wander  at  will  over  endless  chains  of  mountains 
and  primeval  forests.  Everywhere  stretches  a  wonder 
ful  tapestry  of  every  tint  and  hue.  In  those  last  days 
of  November,  the  autumnal  colors,  so  fine  in  France, 
have  here  a  brighter  tinge.  The  air  is  frosty,  despite 
the  bright  sun;  the  sky  is  azure.  And  to  all  this 
natural  beauty  there  is  added  a  sort  of  charm  from  the 
fact  that  these  elegant  villas  people  for  the  most  part 
what  was  once  a  virgin  forest,  and  that  these  kings  of 
finance  or  of  industry  succeed  so  closely  the  wild 
Indian  tribes. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  365 

The  good  fortune  which  had  attended  me  through 
out  my  voyage  was  not  lacking  in  my  last  sojourn  in 
New  York,  which  coincided  with  the  municipal  elec 
tions.  Seth  Low,  the  former  President  of  Columbia 
University,  and  actually  holding  the  position  of  mayor, 
was  one  candidate,  and  Mr.  McClellan  was  the  Demo 
cratic  nominee.  If  we  are  to  give  credence  to  the 
partisans  of  Mr.  Low,  their  purpose  was  to  unite  all 
honest  and  right-thinking  men,  independent  of  party, 
and  oppose  the  rule  of  corrupt  politicians.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  friends  of  Mr.  McClellan  urged  that 
it  was  time  for  the  City  of  New  York,  whose  majority 
is  always  strongly  Democratic,  to  rise  up,  unmask  Re 
publican  pretensions,  take  control  of  the  municipal 
government,  and  have  affairs  administered  by  men 
representing  the  genuine  opinions  of  the  city. 

The  campaign  terminated  in  a  victory  for  McClel 
lan.  And  this,  according  to  his  opponents,  may  mean 
the  return  of  the  lamentable  Tammany  rule  —  though 
so  far  events  do  not  seem  to  justify  their  expectations. 
As  to  that,  it  may  be  said,  in  a  general  way,  that  politi 
cal  corruption,  so  widely  developed  in  the  United 
States,  and  principally  in  the  administration  of  the 
large  cities,  has  much  diminished  of  late  years.  The 
influence  of  the  universities  and  of  high  officials,  men 
of  integrity  like  Mr.  Roosevelt,  is  making  itself  felt; 
and  all  citizens  appear  to  realize  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  best  men  to  concern  themselves  with  the  matters 
of  public  interest,  and  no  longer  to  abandon  them  to 
professional  politicians,  who,  incapable  of  managing 
well  their  own  affairs,  seek  profit  in  those  of  others. 


366  IN   THE    LAND   OF 

If  we  are  to  credit  what  was  said  in  different  quar 
ters  regarding  this  campaign,  we  must  subscribe  to  the 
words  of  Mr.  Roosevelt: 

"  When  we  consider  the  enormous  number  of  emigrants  who 
come  to  us  entirely  unacquainted  with  any  form  of  self-government, 
who  have  been  thrown  in  among  us,  and  who  have  not  yet  been 
completely  assimilated,  our  surprise  should  be,  not  that  universal 
suffrage  is  often  abused,  but  rather  that  it  works  so  well.  We  are 
better,  and  not  worse,  than  we  were  a  generation  ago." 

The  animosities  of  the  political  campaign  were 
manifested,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  in  the  newspapers 
alone.  I  saw  no  placards  and  hand-bills,  as  in  France, 
but  simply  the  names  and  portraits  of  candidates  on 
banners  fluttering  from  street  to  street.  The  two 
meetings  which  I  attended  were  surprisingly  calm. 
One  night,  with  two  Frenchmen  of  New  York,  I  set 
out  for  a  Tammany  meeting  held  in  a  theatre ;  but  as 
admission  was  by  invitation,  we  could  only  glance  at 
it  from  the  galleries,  and  retire.  To  me,  the  assem 
blage  had  the  air  of  assisting  at  a  classical  play.  Re 
pelled,  as  it  were,  by  Mr.  McClellan's  party,  we 
directed  our  steps  to  Mr.  Low's.  Admission  here 
was  free.  We  listened  nearly  an  hour  to  a  recital  of 
the  merits  of  the  existing  administration;  the  reign 
of  virtue  and  prosperity  was  the  theme  enlarged  upon 
by  District  Attorney  Jerome,  of  the  "fusion"  party. 
His  remarks  were  calmly  received,  and  applause  was 
rare.  In  short,  at  the  two  meetings  the  halls  were  half 

1{'New  York." — The  abuse  of  which  we  have  just  spoken  refers  always  to 
questions  of  a  pecuniary  nature,  the  liberty  of  the  citizens  in  all  religious  respects  being 
left  intact. 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  367 

filled,  and  the  enthusiasm  nil.  The  next  day  the  parti 
san  papers  on  either  side  gave  most  glowing  accounts 
of  their  own  meeting,  and  of  course  reported  the  failure 
of  the  other.  But  neither  in  the  political  gatherings 
nor  in  the  press  was  religion  once  referred  to.  In  this 
country,  all  political  elections  are  based  chiefly  on 
questions  of  business  and  finance.  Religion  has  no 
part  in  the  contest. 

The  next  day  I  had  several  opportunities  to  look 
at  scenery  of  quite  another  sort.  At  noon,  in  William 
Street,  New  York,  I  went  to  see  a  friend  of  mine,  an 
engineer,  whose  office  was  on  an  eighteenth  floor. 
While  there,  we  mounted  to  the  top,  seven  stories 
higher.  As  we  looked  out  here  and  there,  parts  of  the 
horizon  were  obscured  by  the  buildings  which  towrered 
above  us,  but  on  the  whole  the  view  was  clear. 
Beneath  our  feet,  the  city  spread  out  its  interesting 
features.  If  we  looked  to  the  north,  it  extended  long 
and  narrow,  with  its  eleven  avenues  cut  at  right  angles 
by  a  hundred  and  sixty  streets,  all  alike,  and  named 
only  by  their  numbers ;  if  we  turned  to  the  south,  nar 
row  and  confused  roads  covered  the  spot  settled  by 
the  first  colonists.  To  the  west  gleamed  the  Hudson 
River ;  and  beyond  that,  Jersey  City  was  visible ; 
while  on  the  other  side  lay  the  East  River  and  Brook 
lyn.  Within  these  limits  is  a  population  of  four 
million  inhabitants,  if  not  more.  Numerous  vessels 
covered  the  two  rivers,  passing  and  repassing.  We 
were  so  far  above  the  din  and  confusion  of  the 
city,  that  all  noises  became  a  vague  murmur  before 


368  IN    THE    LAND    OF 

reaching  us ;    the   sight   was   one   full   of  power   and 
yet  repose. 

I  was  destined  the  same  day  to  view  this  scene  in 
other  aspects.  Toward  the  close  of  the  afternoon  I 
left  for  Brooklyn.  Half-way  across  the  gigantic  bridge, 
I  turned,  and  was  amazed  at  the  spectacle.  I  found 
myself  confronting  the  loftiest  giant  structures  grouped 
in  that  part  of  the  city.  Their  fantastic  masses,  at 
heights  truly  formidable,  were  darkly  outlined  against 
the  purple  of  the  clouds.  An  hour  and  a  half  later,  on 
the  boat  conveying  me  from  Brooklyn  by  the  South 
Ferry,  I  saw  the  same  buildings,  now  illuminated  with 
thousands  of  lights ;  the  dismal  fortresses  seemed  ani 
mated.  It  was  like  seeing  a  chain  of  mountains 
stretching  across  from  the  noisy  glittering  bank  into 
the  silent  and  sombre  horizon  beyond;  and  all  was 
bathed  in  glowing  light,  from  the  humble  summit  a 
few  feet  high,  to  the  bold  peaks  twice  as  lofty  as  our 
cathedral  towers.  When  finally,  at  midnight,  I  re 
turned  from  New  Brighton,  a  little  city  of  Staten 
Island,  where  a  friend  had  invited  me,  New  York 
again  appeared  under  a  different  aspect,  and  one  so 
strange  that,  despite  the  cold,  it  was  with  reluctance  I 
quitted  the  bridge.  The  extinguished  street-lights  of 
the  city  would  have  left  it  in  mystery,  and  it  might 
have  seemed  like  any  other,  if  here  and  there  the  win 
dows  had  not  blazed  forth  from  great  altitudes.  To 
our  feeble  sight,  these  lights  appeared  like  constella 
tions  ;  but  infinitely  higher,  God  had  placed  his  stars 
by  myriads,  and  they  glittered  in  the  immensity  of 
their  extent,  their  mystery,  and  their  duration,  a  calm 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  369 

and  silent  challenge  to  man's  greatest  achievements. 
Above  our  heads  was  unfurled  this  divinely  created 
star-spangled  banner,  and  its  folds  floated  over  the 
sleeping  city  and  the  land. 

The  approaching  end  of  my  journey  brought  each 
day  more  and  more  numerous  impressions  and  stores  of 
information.  It  would  be  impossible  to  remember  all. 

I  ought  at  least  to  describe  the  work  known  as  the 
International  Catholic  Truth  Society,  the  purpose  of 
which  was  explained  to  me  by  its  active  president,1  Dr. 
W.  F.  MacGinnis,  a  priest  of  Brooklyn.  Grouping 
together  the  intelligent  Catholics  of  each  city  and  car 
rying  on  a  steady  foreign  correspondence,  the  society 
distributes  in  profusion  the  most  notable  articles,  dis 
courses,  and  pamphlets,  concerning  religious  questions, 
in  all  languages.  It  rectifies,  through  friendly  or  inde 
pendent  journals,  untrustworthy  information  or  false 
statements  of  authentic  facts,  and  refutes,  by  means  of 
communications  which  it  takes  care  to  reproduce, 
calumnies  made  against  the  Church  and  its  represen 
tatives.  Its  polemics  and  its  propagandas  are,  however, 
conducted  in  all  honesty,  and  I  was  pleased  to  hear 
the  president  say  that  sometimes  he  had  refused  to 
reply  to  certain  attacks  because,  upon  investigation, 
they  appeared  to  be  justified. 

Something  also  must  be  said  of  the  Anglican  min 
isters  to  whom  I  was  introduced.  On  the  eve  of  my 
departure,  I  paid  a  visit  to  one  of  them  in  his  rectory 

1  The  vice-president  is  Mr.  W.  J.  Carr  ;  the  honorary  vice-presidents  are  Mr. 
Charles  Bonaparte  of  Baltimore  and  Mr.  Bourke  Cockran  of  New  York. 


370  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

on  Staten  Island.  I  had  known  him  in  Paris  as  a  most 
pious  and  zealous  student.  He  is  a  Ritualist,  and 
introduced  me  to  some  of  his  clerical  friends,  who 
resemble  him  in  their  ideas  and  practice,  —  two  young 
curates  of  Trinity,  and  a  venerable  and  distinguished 
canon.  They  recalled  to  mind  some  of  my  most 
cherished  memories  of  England.  The  time  came  for 
the  toasts ;  I  responded  to  mine  by  proposing  the 
health  of  one  who  was  endeared  to  me  personally,  and 
esteemed  by  them  for  his  convictions,  Lord  Halifax. 
"Gentlemen,"  then  said  the  canon,  "I  now  propose 
a  toast  in  which  I  doubt  not  you  will  join  with  all 
your  heart;  and  this  time  let  us  all  stand.  To  the 
health  of  His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  X."  He  then 
related  to  me  his  recollections  of  Rome,  his  pilgrimage 
to  the  great  shrine,  and  his  audience  with  the  Holy 
Father.  From  what  little  I  could  observe  during  my 
visit,  I  should  be  inclined  to  say  that  the  Episcopalian 
Church  in  America  displays  much  the  same  tendencies 
as  the  Church  of  England.  Of  the  latter  establish 
ment  I  have  spoken  elsewhere.1 

Among  my  last  visits,  I  must  note  one  I  made  to 
Mr.  David  A.  Monroe,  editor  of  the  "North  American 
Review."  The  offices  of  this  periodical  are  in  no  way 
imposing.  To  reach  the  editor's  sanctum,  it  is  neces 
sary  to  traverse  the  maze  of  the  immense  thought- 
manufactory  in  which  it  is  published.  Upon  being 
admitted  to  Mr.  Monroe's  office,  —  a  place  where 
the  waiting-room  did  not  remind  me  of  the  "  Revue 
des  Deux  Mondes"  and  "  Le  Correspondant,"  —  I 

1  See  chapter  on  Anglicans  and  Romans  in  "  Quelques  motifs  d'esperer." 


THE   STRENUOUS   LIFE  371 

presented  a  letter  of  introduction  given  me  by  Pro 
fessor  Egan.  With  a  hasty  glance,  he  returned  it  to 
me,  saying,  "  You  come  from  one  of  the  men  whom 
I  esteem  most  highly  and  whose  writing  I  am  least  able 
to  decipher;  tell  me  yourself  the  object  of  this  visit/* 
I  then  expressed  my  desire  to  discuss  in  the  <c  Review  " 
the  politico-religious  crisis  which  France  was  passing 
through,  and  which  I  felt  was  very  imperfectly  under 
stood  in  the  United  States.  Satisfactory  arrangements 
were  made  at  once;  and  two  months  later,  a  French 
Catholic  priest,  without  having  had  a  word  of  his 
manuscript  altered,  or  a  note  added  to  indicate  the 
least  reservation,  published  in  the  "  North  American 
Review**  an  article  explaining  the  conduct  of  the 
Government  toward  the  Congregations.  In  it  he  took 
an  entirely  different  standpoint  from  that  which  had 
been  adopted  in  an  article  written  several  months 
earlier  by  some  one  of  the  staff  of  this  same  periodical. 
Thus  both  sides  of  the  question  are  submitted  to  the 
reader,  and  he  himself  is  responsible  for  his  opinions. 

It  is  said  that  farewells  should  be  hurried;  at  least 
let  me  hurry  the  recital  of  mine. 

My  sojourn  ended,  as  it  had  begun,  at  the  Con 
vent  of  the  Paulist  Fathers.  I  like  to  recall  our  con 
versation  that  last  evening,  after  the  silent  supper. 
Again  I  hear  the  prayers  recited  in  common  in  the 
dim  chapel,  as  we  kneel  round  the  high  altar ;  and  I 
vividly  remember  my  last  visit  to  the  room  rendered 
sacred  by  the  labors  and  suffering  and  death  of  that 
great  friend  of  God,  Father  Hecker.  All  this  was  not 


372  IN   THE    LAND    OF 

conducive  to  sleep;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
thoughts  of  those  friends  to  whom  I  was  returning,  I 
should  have  been  overwhelmed  by  sadness. 

In  the  early  morning  I  said  mass  in  the  quiet 
church,  and  as  it  was  my  last  on  American  soil,  I 
offered  it  in  heartfelt  thanksgiving  for  all  the  joy  and 
the  moral  strength  I  had  received.  After  a  hasty 
breakfast,  I  bade  farewell  to  the  good  missionaries  who 
had  received  me  so  fraternally,  embraced  Father  Doyle, 
knelt  before  the  venerable  Father  Deshon  to  receive 
his  blessing,  and  departed  in  silence. 

The  "  Lorraine,"  so  suggestive  of  pleasant  memo 
ries,  was  again  about  to  set  sail.  On  every  hand  were 
tokens  of  our  departure.  Friends  were  endeavoring 
by  last  words  and  floral  offerings  to  soften  the  pangs 
of  parting.  But  for  the  second  time  the  bell  rings  and 
warns  visitors  that  it  is  time  to  go.  They  descend,  and 
the  plank  is  drawn  away.  I  could  not  have  believed 
that  so  simple  an  act  could  have  been  so  solemn.  It 
was  indeed  a  final  separation  ;  we  had  left  the  continent 
behind.  The  vessel  sails  forth  majestically,  and  words 
are  exchanged  by  signals,  till  even  these  are  unper- 
ceived.  The  banks  of  the  Hudson  recede  and  disap 
pear  ;  the  bay  widens  out  in  a  circle,  as  we  direct  our 
course  toward  "The  Narrows,"  the  difficult  channel 
which  serves  as  entrance, —  now,  alas !  as  egress, — 
between  Long  Island  and  Staten  Island.  My  gaze  is 
fixed  on  New  York.  The  misty  light  of  this  Autumn 
morning  softens  even  the  hard  outline  of  the  huge 
sky-scrapers  and  the  white  smoke  wreathes  them  in 
floating  drapery. 


THE   STRENUOUS    LIFE  373 

But  America  is  fast  disappearing.  Most  of  the 
passengers  seem  absorbed  in  thoughts  of  home;  some 
of  them  are  weeping.  I,  too,  am  leaving  behind  me 
cherished  friends;  but  what  touches  me  most  keenly 
is  the  parting  from  this  "sweet  land  of  liberty,"  this 
free,  strong  country,  which  has  not  disappointed  my 
expectations.  A  lovely  rose,  of  the  kind  called  "Ameri 
can  Beauty,"  falls  from  a  farewell  bouquet,  and  is 
wafted  toward  me  by  the  wind,  in  symbolical  response, 
as  it  were,  to  my  feelings.  Those  whose  love  has  been 
lavished  only  on  persons  perhaps  do  not  know  all  the 
capacity  of  the  human  heart.  Humanity,  progress, 
religion,  mere  words  to  some,  are  to  others  large 
realities. 

We  pass  close  to  the  Statue  of  Liberty.  Holding 
aloft  her  colossal  torch,  she  turns  her  face  toward  the 
ocean,  and  while  thus  typifying  enlightenment  she  at 
the  same  time  gives  a  solemn  token  of  farewell.  It 
is  as  if  she  said  to  the  departing  traveller,  "Courage  — 
Forward !  "  Thus  at  least  I  seem  to  hear  and  interpret 
this  voice  of  Liberty.  And  so  I  control  my  other 
emotions ;  strength  returns,  and  I  mutely  promise, 
with  God  as  my  witness,  to  carry  to  the  Old  World, 
as  a  humble  missionary,  my  part  of  the  message  of 
life.  It  is  in  fulfilment  of  that  promise  that  this  book 
has  been  written. 

THE    END 


INDEX 


INDEX 


ADD 

ADDAMS,  Miss  JANE,     147,     148 

"^Eneid"  explained  by  colored 
woman,  294 

Agricultural  colonies,  168 

Altoona,  Penn.,  219 

American  children,  12 

"American  Ideals,"    200,    249 

"American  Notes,"  Dickens,  119 

Americans  in  public,  48 

—  not  America,  45 

Ampere  on  Niagara,  119 

Anglican  clergymen,  369 

Antiquities  in  Boston,  5 1 

Anti-Semitism,  37 

Apostolic  Mission  House,  274 

Arbitration  Commission,  157,  158 

Architects,  American,  study  in  Paris, 
141 

Armies  of  the  Potomac  and  the 
Tennessee,  joint  reception,  333 

Army  of  the  Cumberland,  Reunion 
of,  322 

Assimilation  in  schools  of  foreign- 
born  children,  no 

Assimilative  power  of  America,  35, 
36 

"Atala,"  119,  172 

Atavism  among  Iroquois,  78 

Atlantic  coast,  89 

Austerities  of  Paulist  Fathers,  17 

"Ave  Maria,"   125 

BALTIMORE,  population  of,  224; 
reception  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  on 
return  from  Conclave,  224-228; 
cathedral,  228;  aspect  and  build 
ings  of,  233,  234;  Druid  Hill  Park, 
233;  visits  to  prominent  Catholics, 


CAN 

Baltimore  (continued} 

235;   scene  of  notable  events  in 

Catholic  history,   308 
Baptist  church,  Negro,  138-140 

—  inactivity  at  Columbian  Univer 
sity,  281,  282 

Bessemer,  Penn.,  207 

Big  John,  69-71 

Bishop's  Memorial  Hall,  131 

Bohemians  in  Chicago,  147 

Bonaparte,  Charles  J.,  235,  313-316, 

349>  369 

—  family,  235 
"Boom  town,"  The,  123 
Boston,  47-58 

—  Public  Library,  51 
Bourassa,  M.,  81 
Bourget,  Paul,  144,  236 

Boys  under  woman  teachers,  in 
Braddock,  Penn.,  207 
Bridgeport  (Ohio),  Growth  of  Cath 
olic  Church  at,   310-312 
Brighton  (Mass.)  Seminary,  54 
Brooklyn,  Catholics  in,  30 
Brooks,  General,  334 
Brownson,  Orestes  A.,  131 
Bruneau,  Father,  360 
Brunetiere,  M.,  53 
Bryn  Mawr  College,  355 

—  School,  318-320 
Buffalo,  115-118 
Buildings,  old  and  new,  194 
Burke,  Father,  362 

CAMPAIGN    methods    in    municipal 

election,   365 
Canada,   provinces  invite   colonists, 

9-11;   development,    n;   crossing 


378 


INDEX 


CAN 

Canada  (continued} 

the  frontier,  61;  introduction  to, 
62;  the  soul  of,  65,  83;  extent  of, 
83;  colonization,  84;  scenery  of, 
86 

Canals,  ship,  152,  220 

Canons,  232 

Capitals  of  States,  221 

Capitol  at  Washington,  262 

Carnegie,  Andrew   198-206 

—  Library,  Pittsburg,  200 

Carr,  W.  J.,  369  (note) 

Catholic  Church  in  America — 
Sunday  school,  Mass,  and  parish 
affairs,  20;  practical  Catholics,  20; 
number  of  Catholics,  24;  moral 
influence  exerted  by  Church,  28; 
service  to  the  State,  28;  Catholic 
emigrants,  28;  place  in  public 
esteem,  29;  largest  Catholic  popu 
lation,  29;  Catholics  in  New  York, 
Brooklyn,  Chicago,  and  United 
States,  29,  30;  Canadian  Catholics, 
30;  foreign  elements  in  the  Church, 
— Irish,  German,  Italian,  30;  in 
American  dependencies,  30  (note) ; 
Slavic  and  Polish  Catholics,  31; 
natural  growth,  31;  Paulist  Fa 
thers'  Missions,  32;  Pope's  letter, 
32;  Catholic  Church  in  Boston,  54; 
church  attendance,  56;  Summer 
schools,  59;  among  Indians,  67-71; 
universality  of  Catholicism,  67, 
85;  Sulpician  missionaries,  77; 
Catholic  Church  in  Ottawa,  80; 
condition  compared  to  French 
church,  85;  ideas  embodied  in 
Ottawa  University,  85;  freedom 
of  priests,  105;  churches  and  in 
stitutions  free  from  taxation,  105; 
concern  in  politics,  107;  catechism 
in  parochial  schools,  no,  in; 


CAT 

Catholic  (continued) 

schools,  109-112;  seminary  train 
ing,  113;  secret  societies  and  the 
Church,  116;  Non-Catholic  toler 
ance,  117;  public  reception  for 
bishop,  117;  Catholic  University, 
Notre  Dame,  124;  Holy  Cross 
Congregation,  124,  131;  Cath 
olic  journals,  125;  freedom 
from  State  interference,  130; 
training  of  novices,  131;  among 
negroes,  138;  the  public  school 
and  the  Church,  145;  parochial 
schools  in  Chicago,  145;  influence 
of  Bishop  Spalding  in  Peoria  and 
beyond,  154;  simplicity  and  in 
formality,  154,  170;  unprejudiced 
librarians,  165;  religious  impar 
tiality  of  President  Roosevelt, 
182-184,  252,  255;  prosperity  of 
religious  orders,  185;  growth  of 
new  dioceses,  186,  232;  clergy 
and  their  people,  187,  266;  work 
of  Christian  Brothers,  190,  192 
(note};  Protestants  in  Catholic 
schools,  191;  buildings  and  doc 
trines,  194,  273;  welcome  to  rep 
resentative  of  Conclave,  224; 
Catholic  population  of  Baltimore, 
224;  first  representative  in  Rome, 
229;  state  aid  for  charities,  235; 
religious  daily  newspapers,  238; 
reception  granted  to  French  nuns, 
245;  tireless  priests,  265;  mixed 
marriages,  269;  non-Catholic  mis 
sionary  movement,  274;  attitude 
toward  higher  education  of  wo 
men,  277;  Catholic  free  universi 
ties  and  schools,  280;  Catholic 
ecclesiastical  students,  290,  291; 
number  of  parochial  schools,  291; 
development  of  diocese  among 


INDEX 


379 


CAT 

Catholic  (continued) 

foreigners,  310;  esteem  in  which 
priests  are  held,  334,  335;  Cath 
olic  population  of  Philadelphia, 
341;  formation  of  new  parishes, 
342;  salary  of  priests,  344;  tem 
poral  affairs  of  parish  and  diocese, 
344;  financial  relations  of  people 
and  clergy,  345;  debt  to  Ireland, 
346;  wise  separation  of  Church 
and  State,  348;  Catholics  ap 
pointed  by  President,  349 

Catholic  Church  in  France — 
religionists  emigrating  to  America, 
6,  13;  attitude  toward  educator,  7; 
rights  for  the  Church,  105;  inse 
curity  from  State  interference, 
130;  task  of  French  bishops,  187; 
Government  takes  possession  of 
convent,  221;  State's  attitude 
toward  Church,  261;  separation 
of  Church  and  State — Mgr.  Fal- 
conio's  view,  309;  as  discussed  in 
American  press,  314;  management 
of  temporal  affairs,  345 

Catholic   Missionary    Union,    The, 

274 
"Catholic    Standard   and  Times," 

347 

—  University  of  St.  Louis,  183 

—  University  of   Washington,    157 
272,  286 

"  Catholic  World,  The,"  362 
Caughnawaga,     66-72 
Cemeteries,  American,  64,  106 
Central  High  School,  The,  of  Phil 
adelphia,   350 

—  time,  122 
Cereals,  American,  89 
Champlain  and  George,  Lakes,  47 
Charities  of  American  women,  148 
Charlotte,    N.    Y.,    90-95 


COL 

Chateaubriand's  description  of  Ni 
agara,  119;  eulogy  of  George 
Washington,  337 

Chautauqua,  Lake,   121 

Chavannes,  Puvis,  de,  Frescoes  by,  52 

Cheverus,  Bishop,  50,  54 

Chicago,  134-152 

—  Number  of  Catholics  in,  30 

—  "Record -Herald,"  150 
"Chicago,  the  Story  of  her  Hundred 

Years,"    150 

—  University,  143 
Children,   American,    12 

—  at  mass,   20 

-  of  St.  Jean  Baptiste  de  la  Salle, 

190 

Children's  department  in  library,  52 
Chinatown,  New  York,  33 
Chinese  in  America,  34 
Choir-boys  of  St.  Paul's,  16 
Christian  Brothers'  College,  189-192 
Christians  in  New  York  and  Paris, 

21 
Church   attendance,    56 

—  councils,  Informality  of,  170 

—  membership,  what  constitutes,  25 
City  and  country  churches,  24 

—  Hall    and    Court    House,    New 
York,  1 8 

Civil  War,  42 

Classes  in  Protestant  worship,  23 
Classics  for  school-girls,  134 
Clerical  lecturer,  267 
Climate,  Changes  in,  122 
Coal  product  of  Pennsylvania,  198 
Cockran,  Bourke,  369  (note) 
Coghlan,  Father,  342,  346,  347 
College-bred  workers,   211-213 
College  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  273 
Colonist  bound  for  Canada,  8,  9 
Colonization,  Opportunities  for,  in 
Canada,  84 


380 


INDEX 


COL 

Colored   high  school,  Washington, 

293 

"  Colored  houses,"  42 
Col  ton,  Mgr.,  117,  118  (note) 
Columbia  University,  42 
Columbian  Exposition,  143 

—  University,  281 

Columbus  (Ohio)  diocese,  Develop 
ment  of,  309 
Combes,  M.,  7 
Commercial  instruction,  351 
Conclave,  The,  229-231,  239-241 
Congresses  at  World's  Fair,  182 
Congressional  Library,  264 
Convent  chaplain,  13 

—  of  the  Gray  Nuns,  Montreal,  6 
Converts  to  Catholicism,  32 
Corbin,  General,  323 

Cornell  University,  288  (note) 

Corrigan,  Mgr.,  108,  345 

Cosmos  Club,  Washington,  281,  282 

Cote  Brilliante,  191 

Courcel,  de,  M.,  190 

Creeds  in  United  States,  24,  25 

Croiset,  Alfred,  158 

Customs  officials  likened  to  Indians, 

15 

DANTE,  Collector  of  editions  of,  124 
Decelles,  M.,  82,  83 
Dedication  of  present  volume,   245 
Degrees,  University,  127 
Democratic  Convention,   182 
Dependencies,  Catholics  in,  30  (note) 
Deshon,  Father,  362,  372 
Dickens 's   description   of   Niagara, 

119 
Diocesan  Seminary,  Brighton,  Mass., 

54,  55 

Diplomas,  valuation  of,    127 
Discipline    in    educational    institu 
tions,  128 


EVO 

Distances  in  America,  88,  91 
Distilleries,  Revenue  from,  162 
District  of  Columbia,   263 
"  Divina   Commedia,"  124 
Doctrines  of  the  Church,  195 
Dodge,  General,  325-327 
Dollyan,    Thomas,    First   Governor 

of  New  York,  347  (note) 
Doumic,  M.,  53,  358 
Doyle,  Father,  21,  23,  24,  34,  274, 

275,    372 

Drexel  Institute,  Philadelphia,  349 
Dryscoll,  James,  Superior  Father, 

Dunwoodie  Seminary,  360 
Du  Bois,  Professor  W.  E.  B.,  297 
Dubuque,  Archbishop  of,  see  Keane, 

Mgr. 

Dunwoodie  Seminary,  360 
Dyer,  Father,  305 

EDUCATIONAL    section    of    World's 

Fair,  179-182 
Edv/ards,  Mr.  James,  125 
Egan,  Dr ,  245,  272,  371 
Election,  Municipal,  in  New  York, 

107,  365 

Electoral  geography  in  Canada,  82 
Ellicot  Square  Building,  Buffalo,  116 
Elliott,  Father,  16-18,  35,  41-43, 

274 

Emery,  Father,  85 
"  Empire  of  Business,  The,"   198 
English    and    French    in    Canada, 

73-76 

—  nun  leaving  France,  7 

—  origin  of  New  England  names,  4 
Episcopal  clergymen,  President  ad 
dresses,    259 

—  residences,    107,   232 

"  Evening  Star"  (Washington),  324 
"  Evolution  and  Dogma,"  124 

—  studied  in  seminary  course,  361 


INDEX 


FAI 

"  FAITH  of  Our  Fathers,  The,"  236, 

237 

Falconio,  Mgr.,  267,  309 

Fallen,  Father,  85,  115 

Farewell  to    America,   372 

Farm  work,  Training  afforded  by,  213 

First  day  in  America,   19 

Fitte,  Father,  125 

Foreign-born  children  in  school,  no 

Foreign  population,  34,  35,  148-150; 
growth  of  Catholic  Church  among, 
309-312 

Fox,  William  Carl  ton,   282 

France,  Religionists  leaving,  5-8 

Francis,  Hon.  David,  174,  178,  180 

Freedom  of  seminarians,  104 

Free  Masons,  117 

French  and  English  in  Canada, 
73-76;  French  and  Irish  in  Ot 
tawa,  80 

—  Anticlerical,  25 

—  Canadians,  30 

—  descent   of   President    and  Mrs. 
Roosevelt,  247 

—  family  in  St.  Louis,  187 

—  lecture  courses,  53 

—  students  in  America,  131 
Fulton,  Robert,  44 

GAS,  Natural,  199 

General  Bureau  of  Education,  285, 

291 

Genesee  River,  98 
George  and  Champlain,  Lakes,  47 

—  Washington  University,  see  Co 
lumbian  University 

Gerin,  M.,  81 

German  Catholics,  30 

Gibbons,  Archbishop,  182,  183,  224- 
241,  270,  306-308,  347 

Gifts  to  institutions  of  higher  learn 
ing.  353 


HOU 

Gigot,  Abbe*,  272 

Girard  College,  349 

Girlhood  in  the  United  States,  358 

Glennon,  Archbishop,  174,  180,  185, 
189,  192,  194,  275,  276 

"  Gospel  of  Wealth,"  200,  202- 
206 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Re 
union  of,  304 

—  Seminary,  Baltimore,  307 

—  Seminary,  St.  Louis,   193 
Grannan,    Dr.,    272 
Grant's  tomb,  42 

Guam,  Catholics  in,  30  {note) 

HAILANDIERE,  Mgr.,  133 

Halifax,  Lord,  370 

Hamilton,  Gen.  Ian,  323 

Harris,  W.  T.,  Commissioner  of 
Education,  285 

Harrisburg,    Penn.,    221 

Harvard  University,  52;  attitude 
toward  negroes,  295;  Mgr.  Keane 
addresses  students,  358 

Havre,  2 

Hawaii,  Catholics  in,  30  (note) 

Haygood,  Rev.  Atticus  C.,  303  (note) 

Health  vs.  Study,  100 

Hecker,  Father,  236,  371;  tomb  of,  18 

Henderson,    General,    331 

Hennessy,   Bishop,    186 

Heuisler,  Judge,  of  Baltimore,  226 

Historical  Society  of  Missouri,  178 

Hogan,  Abbe,  54 

Holy  Cross  Congregation,  Amer 
ican  province,  124,  125,  131 

—  Name  Society,    Address    before, 

257 

Homestead,  Penn.,  207 
Horseshoe  Curve,  Pennsylvania,  219 
Hospitality,    American,    174 
House-moving,    141 


382 


INDEX 


HUD 

Hudson,    Father,    125 

—  River,   46 
Hughes,    Father,    362 

Hull  House,  Chicago,  147,  148 
Hyvernat,   Abbe,    272 

IMMIGRANTS  cared  for  by  Church, 

28-30 
"In   the  Land  of  the     Strenuous 

Life"  :  title  suggested,  126,  245 
Independence    Hall,     Philadelphia, 

340 
Indian  Commission,  348 

—  corn,  a  new  dish,  17 

—  names  in  New  England,  60 

—  Summer,   143,   161 
Indiana,   123 

Indians  in  Canada,  66-73;  m  Penn 
sylvania,  220 

Influence,  Protestant  and  Cath 
olic,  28 

Informality  in  Church  councils,  170 

International  Bureau  of  American 
Republics,  282-284 

—  Catholic  Truth  Society,  369 
Interview     by     student-journalists, 

127 

—  with  the  President,  243-249 
Interviewed  by  telephone,  215 
Ireland,  Archbishop,  94,   107,   108, 

168,  229,  304,  325,  330-336 
Irish  and  French  in  Ottawa,  80 

—  Catholics,  30,  346 

—  priests  in  American  Church,  346 
Iroquois  Indians,  66-73,  77~79 
Irreligion,  27 

Italian  Catholics,  30 

—  children  in  school,  no 

—  immigrants,  28;  efforts  of  Bishop 
of  Piacenza  for,  311 

—  quarter,  New  York,  34 
Itinerary  of  proposed  trip,   45 


LOU 

JEROME,   District  Attorney,   366 

"Jewish  World,  The,"  38 

Jews  in  New  York,  36,  37;  social 

position,  363 

Johns  Hopkins  University,  320 
Johnstown,    Penn.,    218 
Journalism,  School  of,  126 

KAIN,  Mgr.,  174,  309 
Kansas  City,  Diocese  of,  186 
Keane,   Mgr.,    159,    358 
Kingston,    Ontario,    90 
Knights  of  Columbus,  116 

LABERTHONNIERE,    P&RE,    160 

La  Bruy£re,   358 

Lachine,  Rapids  of,  64,  77,  87 

Lake  Saint  Louis,  77 

"  La  Patrie,"  61,  75 

Lapparent,  M.  de,  99 

Laundry,   A  modern,   130 

Laurier,  Sir  Wilfred,  n,  80,  82 

Laval,    Universities   of,  86 

Lavigerie,  Cardinal,  101 

"  L'Eglise  Catholique  et  la  liberte 

aux  Etats-Unis,"  345,  348 
Leo    XIII,    32 
Leroy-Beaulieu,  M.  A.,  53 
"  Les  derniers  jours  de  Leon  XIII 

et  le  conclave,"  239 
Liberty  accorded  seminarians,   105 
-  Bell,  340 

—  statue  of,  373 
Library  management,   165 
Linguistic  attainments  of  a  priest, 

3" 

Logan,  Mrs.  John  A.,  334 
Lord's  Prayer,  Knowledge  of  the, 

25 

"  Lorraine,"    2,    372 
Louisiana  Purchase,  176-178 

—  Purchase  Exposition,  175-182 


INDEX 


383 


LOW 

Low,   Seth,   365 
Lynching,   297 

MACGINNIS,  DR.  W.  F.,  369 

MacMillan,    Father,   362 

MacQuaid,  Bishop,  94-114,  186,  187 

Magnien,  Father,  236,  305-308 

Manhattan,  Real-estate  values  in,  40 

Manuel,    Eugene,    38 

Marie  du  Sacre  Coeur,  Sister,  97 

Marriages,  Form  of  Solemnizing,  271 

Mass  in  St.  Paul's,  New  York,  20 

Mathieu,   Cardinal,   239 

McClellan,  George  B.,  365 

McCook,    Captain,    334 

McElroy,   Major,  334 

McLane,  Mayor,  of  Baltimore, 
225-227 

McMillan,    Father,    313 

McSorley,    Father,    274 

Meaux,  de,  Vicomte,  345,  347,  348 

Memphremagog,  Lake,  60 

Merritt,  Wesley,  Gen.,  191 

Mexico,    1 88 

"  Militant  Christian,  The,"  261 

Missions  to  non-Catholics,  32,  274 

Mitchell,  John,  158  (note) 

Mixed  marriage,   269 

Mixture  of  races,   39 

Monastery  of  the  Visitation,  185 

Monroe,  David  A.,  370 

Montalembert  family,  236 

Montreal,  63-65 

Morissey,  Father,  124 

Mosley  Educational  Commission, 
211,  212  (note) 

Mt.  Vernon,  336 

—  Washington,  View  from,  216 

Municipal  affairs,  Settlements  con 
cerned  in,  148 

—  election  in  New  York,  107,  365 

Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston,  51 


NOT 

"  NARROWS  THE,  "372 

National  songs,   336 

Natural  growth  of  Catholic  Church, 

3i 

—  wonders  of  America,  87 
Negroes  — 

Protestants  outnumber  Catholics, 
24,  303  (note}  ;  Baptist  church 
service,  138-140; separate  Catholic 
churches  and  Bishop  Spalding's 
work  in  Louisville,  138;  segrega 
tion,  138;  negro  high  school,  293; 
educating  race  leaders,  295;  con 
flict  of  whites  and  blacks,  296; 
lynching,  297;  Prof.  W.  E.  B.  Du 
Bois'  study  of  the  race,  297; 
Booker  T.  Washington,  297;  po 
litical  rights,  social  separation, 
and  moral  nature,  297;  depor 
tation,  299;  education  of  negro 
children,  301;  Tuskegee  Institute, 
302;  sincerity  in  religion,  303 
(note) 

"  Negro  Church,  The,"  303  (note) 

New  Stock  Exchange,  New  York,  40 

"  New  York,"  31,  366 

New  York  — 

the  harbor,  14,  15;  constructional 
wonders  of  19,  367-369;  Jews,  37; 
plan  of  city,  41 ;  Catholic  popula 
tion,  29;  municipal  election,  107, 

365 

New  York  State  Capitol,  47 
"New  York  time,"   122 
Niagara   Falls,    118-121 
Non-Catholics,  Missions  to,  31,  32, 

274 

Non-sectarians  in  United  States,  25 
"  North  American  Review,"   370 
Notre  Dame,  Maryland,   132,  277, 

316-318 

—  Montreal,  72 


INDEX 


NOT 

Notre  Dame  University,  123-133 

—  du  Lac,  St.  Louis,  277 

Nuns  leaving  France,  6,  7;  welcome 
in    America,    245 

OBLATE  FATHERS,  85,  115 

O'Connell,  Mgr.,  272,  275 

Odd  Fellows,  117 

O  'Gorman,    Bishop,    42 

Ohio,  123 

Oka,    on    the    Lake    of    the    Two 

Mountains,  77-79 
Old  South  Meeting  House,  51 
"  Opportunity,"  200 
O'Reilly,  Mgr.,  170 
Orphans  and  Cardinal  Gibbons,  234 
Ottawa,  79-82,  84,  85 

—  University  of,  85 

Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Help,  Bos 
ton,  56,  57 
"  Outre-Mer,"     236 

PACIFIC  COAST,  89 

Palisades  vs.  banks  of  Rhine,  46 

Pan-American  soul,  284 

Paris,  Departure  from,  i ;  Christians 
in,  21 ;  Catholic  population  of,  29 

Parish  organization,  21 

Parliament  at  Ottawa,  80-82 

Parochial  schools  and  seminaries  — 
Summer  schools,  59;  Ottawa  Uni 
versity,  85;  Bishop  Mac  Quaid's 
schools,  97-113;  assimilation  of 
foreign -born  children,  no;  cate 
chism  read  in  schools,  in;  Notre 
Dame  University,  123-133;  dis 
cipline  of  boys,  128;  St.  Mary's 
Academy,  132  ;  St.  Elizabeth's 
parish  school,  Chicago,  145;  Peoria 
schools,  Spalding  Institute  for 
boys  and  Notre  Dame  du  Sacr6 
Cceur,  164;  Christian  Brothers' 


PLE 

Parochial  (continued) 

College,  St.  Louis,  189;  Grand 
Seminary,  St.  Louis,  193;  build 
ings,  194;  parochial  schools  estab 
lished  by  Father  Weigand,  310- 
312;  question  of  state  aid  dis 
cussed,  312,  313,  315,  316;  Notre 
Dame  of  Maryland,  316;  parochial 
school,  Baltimore,  233;  Orphan 
age  of  Sisters  of  Charity,  234; 
state  aid,  235;  St.  Patrick's  parish 
schools,  Washington,  265;  Cath 
olic  University  of  Washington, 
272,  316;  Trinity  College,  276, 
356;  number  of  Catholic  and 
Protestant  institutions,  280;  num 
ber  children  in  parochial  schools, 
291;  schools  and  colleges,  341; 
Dunwoodie  Seminary,  360 

Passengers,  en  route  to  New  York, 

Patents,  protection  of,  210 

Patriotism  in  Canada,    75 

Paulist  Fathers,  house  in  New 
York,  16,  17,  362,  371;  St.  Paul's 
church,  18;  as  missionaries,  32 

Pennsylvania,  landscapes  in,  197, 
218-220 

Peoria,    153-155,    161-170 

—  Bishop  of,  see  Spalding,  Bishop 
Perraud,  Cardinal,   114,   158 
Philadelphia,  339~343>  347~352>  359 

—  ship  canal,  220 
Philippines,   Catholics  in,  30  (note) 
Piacenza,  Bishop  of,  efforts  on  be 
half  of  Italian  emigrants,  311 

Picturesque  America,   339 

—  European   cities,    51 

Pine  log  from  British  Columbia,  81 
Pittsburg,  197 

Place-names,  48,  60,  123,  153,  171 
Plenary  Councils,  269,  308 


INDEX 


385 


POL 

Polish  immigrants,  31 

Politics  in  New  York,  365 

Pope  Pius  X,  audience  granted 
by,  227;  election  of,  231,  239-241 

Porto  Rico,  Catholics  in,  30 

Prayer  in  schools,  no 

Prendergast,   Mgr.,    347 

Presbyterian  service  in  New  York,  23 

President  addressed  as  "  Dear  Sir," 
158  (note) 

Press,  Religious,  238 

Priests,  Freedom  of,  187 

Prisons,  Empty,  in  Canada,  83 

Profanity,  President  speaks  con 
cerning,  257 

Professional  students,  290 

Protestant  churches  closed  in  Sum 
mer,  22;  Protestants  and  Cath 
olics  compared  in  numbers,  24-29; 
number  in  Ottawa,  80;  salaries  re 
ceived  by  pastors,  344  (note) 

Public  behavior  of  Americans,  48 

Public  schools  and  educational  insti 
tutions  — 

influence,  28,  36;  number  in  Bos 
ton,  52;  Harvard  University,  52; 
prayer,  hymns,  and  catechism,  no; 
boys  and  girls  in  same  classes,  in; 
women  as  teachers,  112;  granting 
of  degrees,  127;  Chicago  primary 
school,  145;  Peoria  denomina 
tional  schools,  164;  educational 
exhibit,  St.  Louis,  181;  college- 
trained  workers,  212;  Columbian 
University,  281;  general  Bureau 
of  Education,  285;  grammar 
schools,  colleges,  universities,  285; 
classification  compared  with  that 
of  France,  288;  Cornell  Uni 
versity,  288  (note);  interest  in 
education,  289;  professional  and 
theological  schools,  290;  291; 


ROC 

Public  (continued) 

concerning  high  schools,  292;  col 
ored  high  school,  Washington, 
293;  religious  neutrality,  315; 
Bryn  Mawr  School,  318-320; 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  320; 
Drexel  Institute,  Philadelphia, 
349;  Girard  College,  349,  Cen 
tral  High  school,  Philadelphia, 
350;  commercial  instruction,  351; 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  352; 
gifts  to  educational  institutions, 
354;  Bryn  Mawr  College,  355 

Pullman    coaches,    47 

QUAKERS  in  Pennsylvania,  341,  348 
Queen's  photograph,  69 
Quigley,   Mgr.,   140 

RACE  conflicts  in  America,  35 

—  problem  (negro),  see    Negroes 

—  suicide,    31 
Racial  blending,  40 
-  pride,  73 

Railroads  not  punctual,  217,  222 
Rampolla,    Cardinal,    108,    239 
Rapids  of  Lachine,  64,  77,  87 
Redemptorist   Fathers,    55,   58 
"  Red  House,"  The,  264 
Refuge  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Pe 
oria,  169 
Religionists    leaving    France,    5-8; 

freedom   in   America,    105 
Religious  tendencies  of  Americans, 
25;  loss  of  faith,  26,  27;  service  in 
schools,   in 

—  daily  newspapers,    238 

—  orders  in  cities,   185 
Restaurant,  A  prohibitive,  221 
Riordan,  Father,  136,  146 
Riverside  Drive,  43 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  94,  107 


386 


INDEX 


ROC 

Rochester,  Bishop  of,  see  Mac  Quaid, 

Bishop 

Rohl -Smith,  Carl,  and  Mrs.,  327 
Rome  reprimands  American  bishop, 

1 08 
Roosevelt,   President,    27,   31,    183, 

242-261,  325,  327-331,  366 
Ro tours,  des,  Baron  Angot,  160 
"  Rough  Riders,"   254 
Rousier,  de,  M.,  112,  222 
Routes  from  New  York  to  Montreal, 

45 
Ryan,  Archbishop,  347,  348 

ST.  BERNARD'S  SEMINARY,  95-109, 

"3 
Sainte-Christienne    of    Metz,    nuns 

of,    6,  7 
St.  Elizabeth,  parish  of,   Chicago, 

US 

St.    Lawrence   River,    86-90 
St.  Louis,  171-176,  178 

—  Catholic  University  of,    183 
St.  Marie,  Jesuit  college,  184 
St.  Mary's  Acadamy,   132 

—  Seminary,    Baltimore,  see  Grand 
Seminary,  Baltimore 

St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York 
City,    22 

—  Parish,   Washington,  265 

—  Rectory,  Washington,  223,  264 
Salaries  of  Catholic  and  Protestant 

pastors,   344 

Samoa  (American),  Catholics  in,  30 
Satolli,   Cardinal,   241 
Satterlee,  Dr.  Henry,  259,  331 
Sbaretti,    Mgr.,    84 
Scenery  in  America,  87 
Schools  in  Boston,  52 
Scientific  association,  Peoria,  167 
Searle,  Very  Rev.  George  M.,  362 
Secret  societies,  117 


THE 

Settlements,  147 
Settlement-workers,  148 
Shahan,  Dr.,  272 
Shakespeare   lectures,    267 
Sherman,  Father  Thomas  E.,  335 

—  statue,    unveiling  of,    254,   304, 
322-331 

Sicard,  Abbe*,  i,  17,  223,  243 
Sioux  Falls,  Bishop  of,  42 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  57,  316 

—  of  St.  Joseph,  97,  106,  164 

—  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  169 

—  of  the  Holy  Cross,  128,  131 
Slavic  peoples  in  Church,  31 
Sorin,    Father   Edward,    132 
South  Bend,  Indiana,  123 
Spalding,  Bishop,  27,  96,  114,  138, 

154-161,    168-170,    244,    277 
Speech-making,  193 
Stafford,  Dr.,  223,  241,264,266-268, 

325,  326,  333,  334 
State  aid  for  institutions,  169;  for 

parochial  schools,  312 

—  capitals,  221 

—  control  of  degrees  granted,  127 
Stenography  and  typewriting  taught 

in  parochial  school,  no 
Stock  Yards,  Chicago,  144 
"  Strenuous  Life,  The,"  200 
Sulpicians  in  America,  54;  at  Oka, 

77,  78 

Summer    schools,    59 
Sunday  services  in  New  York  parish, 


TAMMANY  in  New  York,  107,  365 
Taxation,    Institutions    free    from, 

105,  169 

Teachers  at  St.  Bernard's,  98 
Telegraphy,    wireless,    3 
Telephone   interview,    215 
Theological  schools,  290 


INDEX 


387 


THO 

Thousand  Islands,  87,  88 

"  Tommy  Atkins,"    323 

Toronto,  Unable  to  reach,  92,  93 

Translations  of  Bishop  Spalding's 
works,  159 

"  Travels  in  America,"  Chateau 
briand,  119 

Trinity  Church,  New  York,  41 

—  College,   Washington,    132,  276- 
280,  288,  356 

Tuskegee  Institute,  301 
Tuxedo  Park,  363 
Typewriting  and  stenography  taught 
in  parochial  school,  no 

UNITED  STATES,  number  Catholics, 
in,  30 

(For  conditions,  comparisons,  sta 
tistics,  etc.,  of  the  United  States, 
see  specific  entries) 
University  of  Atlanta,  303 

—  of  Chicago,  143 

—  of  Pennsylvania,  352 
Universities  evolve  from  colleges,  286 
"  Up  from  Slavery,"  302 

VICARS-GENERAL,  233 
"  Vie  Americaine,"  222 
Vincennes,   Bishop  of,  see    Hailan- 

diere,  Mgr. 
Vitality    of    Catholic    Church     in 


ZIO 

Vitality  (continued) 

America,    312 

Viticulturist,  A  clerical,  101 
Voyage  to  America,   2-13 

WASHINGTON,  BOOKER  T.,  251,  297, 
301,  302 

—  Catholic  University  of,  157,  272, 
316 

—  D.  C.,  223;  visit  to,  262-337 

—  home  and  tomb,  336,  337 

—  University,   St.   Louis,  181 
"  We   Americans,"  85 
Weigand,  Rev.  Joseph,  309-312 
Westinghouse  shops,  206-213 
White  House,   242,   263 

—  Mountains,  60 
Wichita,  Diocese  of,  186 
Wines,  American,  101 
Winnipesaukee,    Lake,    60 
Wireless  telegraphy,  3 

"  Woman  problem,"  112 
Women  as  teachers  for  boys,   in; 
as  charity- workers,   148,   149 

—  Higher  education  of,  276,  279 
Women's  clubs,  167 

YIDDISH  newspaper,  38 

ZAHM,  FATHER,  124,  125,  130 
Zionist  movement,  38 


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